Chuck vs the Nemesis's Ex
by MyNameIsJeffNImLost
Summary: Chuck hadn't heard from his college roommate for five years, but then he asked Chuck to meet him and his girlfriend for dinner.
1. Scene from an Italian Restaurant

_Posted July 17, 2019_

A/N: I realized my last three stories have all been kind of named "Chuck vs. Sarah." None of them have Sarah fighting Chuck, though. They are all Charah-friendly. This one isn't pure fluff, but it is a Charah story.

Disclaimer: Nobody else owns anything here, so why would I?

Disclaimer 2: No beta. Why would I sucker/obligate/subject anyone into reading this when they didn't want to? However, if you PM me corrections, I'll fix them.

* * *

_**July 2007**_

Sarah opened the door and inhaled the aroma of Chi Spacca's Italian restaurant. She held the door open behind her for her date. She supposed it could be called her first "real" date with Bryce, despite them being together for around two years. They had been on many "dates" for a mission over that time. She supposed she would say he had been her boyfriend ever since they started sharing a room together around the world whenever they were undercover as the Andersons. Two years ago, they took their downtime together, going to Cabo. A vacation wasn't the same thing as a date, even though it was exciting. While a lot of her classmates in college spent Spring Break someplace like Florida or Mexico, she spent hers at the Farm, training to jump out of planes and learning new martial arts. That trip to Cabo was her first ever vacation with someone as a couple. Actually, it was her first vacation in which she wasn't visiting her mom or pulling a con since she had left home with her dad, before she was a teenager.

That night, her boyfriend was taking her to a nice restaurant, and it wasn't for a CIA mission. It could almost be called a "real date." It was a little strange in a couple ways, though. First, he insisted on coming to LA, not going out in DC, where they were both based. Second, they weren't going to have a romantic dinner alone. He had invited his best friend, a frat brother he went to college with.

At least he _had_ a friend that wasn't a spy. Since Sarah had a series of aliases until her dad was arrested when she was in high school, and since she went into the CIA at the same time she entered college, her friends were all colleagues that worked in the CIA, the Secret Service, or the DEA. This guy she was going to meet knew Bryce _before_ he was a spy. She was a little intrigued at the idea of getting a glimpse of who Bryce really was underneath the spy exterior.

The frat-boy stereotype did give her pause. She was used to evil men and hormone-driven ones who worked with her in the spy world, both types fawning all over her. She didn't need it in her down-time. Knowing that she had a boyfriend away from work for over the next two days, she wanted him to be the only person who fawned over her.

When they met the friend, Chuck Bartowski, at their table, she was pleasantly surprised. His eyes widened at first, and he was momentarily speechless, but then he recovered and was rather polite. He wasn't what one would call as "classically handsome" as Bryce—someone who could have been a model. But Chuck was close. He had an almost infectious smile, these wonderful curls in his brown hair, and his emotions were easy for someone like her to read. He stared a little, but it wasn't in a way that made her uncomfortable, like he wanted to possess her. Instead, it was mostly mesmerized, but he would look away a little embarrassed when he realized what he was doing. When they first met, he had stood to greet her, and when he realized Bryce sat first, he had actually pushed in her seat for her. It was kind of sweet. He was awkward, but trying to be a gentleman.

A waiter asked for their drink orders. Bryce ordered for himself and for her as well, never asking what she wanted. He ordered a bottle of white wine, In other circumstances it would have been fine, she didn't know Napa Valley vintages enough to know if his selection was good or pretentious, but considering she was planning on getting a steak, not fish or chicken, red would have been better. She also caught a look that Bryce sent the waiter, who suddenly apologized and said he had forgotten. That implied Bryce had given him earlier instructions. She wondered what was going on.

Chuck declined wine and said he was fine with water. When it was just the three of them again, he said that was all his budget allowed, with a self-deprecating laugh.

Bryce said, "What happened after Stanford, Chuck? What happened to the guy who was going to be the next Bill Gates, but with style?"

Chuck replied, "I'm still working on my five year plan. Since Stanford, I've been working at the Buy More. I'm now Supervisor of the Nerd Herd."

Bryce looked a little confused, but Sarah was more so. Even she knew that billionaire co-founded Microsoft while still in college at her alma mater. If Chuck was Bryce's best friend, why didn't he know what he had been doing for the last five years?

Chuck tried to steer the subject away from himself. "But what about you two? Bryce, how did you meet this lovely lady? I assume you are still working on the East Coast as an accountant."

Bryce took her hand on the table, before answering. Sarah didn't really like it. She supposed it was an ok display of affection, but the way Bryce suddenly grabbed it, it seemed like an act of possession. That was unwelcome. She and Bryce might be spending all of their time together on missions, but she didn't think they were that way in public yet. They had barely been out in public together when they weren't working. Technically, they were on their first date, counting that night as a date only by ignoring the guest he had invited. With someone who didn't know what they did, it felt like a cover-couple action.

Bryce said, "Sarah and I work together. Our company is based in DC, but we work internationally, traveling together as a team." Sarah supposed that was one way of spinning the accountant cover that Bryce had told Chuck, adding just a little bit of truth.

Chuck said, "International finance, huh? Impressive. That's a long way from helping you with EE courses in college, like I tutored others. Sounds like switching majors was the right thing for you because it helped you meet Sarah."

Sarah was impressed—with Chuck. Bryce said his friend was a great guy. She wasn't getting the sexist pig vibe that she got off of a lot of guys right after she met them. Instead, he seemed to be a genuinely nice guy. Going to Stanford meant he was smart. It wasn't her school, but she had heard it called the Harvard of the West. Engineering made it like the MIT of the West. Chuck helped other students. Bryce considered him a potential future Bill Gates. That rich guy dropped out of her alma mater, but he co-found one of the most successful companies in history. All signs were that Chuck was really smart.

Bryce smiled at Chuck's praise at his cover-career path, but he seemed distracted, looking around to room and back to the front door. He gave Sarah a kiss on the cheek and excused himself, she assumed to find the hostess or the maître d'. He didn't bother to tell her what was so important.

After a moment, Chuck apologized for the awkward silence. The apology had been unnecessary as Sarah didn't mind it. It meant she didn't have to invent a story to carry on the conversation. At least Chuck wasn't hitting on her or leering at her. She found herself liking having him for company.

Chuck asked what she thought of LA. She said she hadn't seen much so far and thought they might be leaving tomorrow. Her mother lived nearby, but that wasn't what Chuck meant because virtually no one knew about her. Considering Sarah had freshened up on the plane and Bryce had sent their bags to the hotel directly from the airport, she had literally only seen LAX, a taxicab, and this restaurant. It was strange that this dinner was the only planned event for the trip. It was as if the entire purpose was for Bryce's best friend to meet his girlfriend, like he was showing her off. Chuck just said if she had time, she should check out the beach. Surprisingly, Sarah found herself not caring if Bryce was with her.

Sarah frowned at the thought that the dinner was a staged event and looked for where Bryce had gone. At the front of the restaurant, she saw a man holding a bouquet of balloons standing next to a man in a tux. Over towards the bar she spotted Bryce, examining what looked like a champagne bottle. Their waiter was standing by him, looking like he had just been chastised.

Sarah had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. She had to get out of there before something bad happened. Spies don't fall in love, and she definitely didn't love Bryce. Most of the time they were together, they were playing a part or on a post-mission, adrenaline high. The way she looked at it, they had never completed a single _real_ date in their two years as a couple. She didn't count room service while planning an upcoming mission. She did not want to become his trophy wife just so she would be assigned to all future missions with him. She'd end up with a life of repeatedly saving his ass, with him continuing to take credit for what she did. She had been putting up with it because he was her boyfriend, but she didn't want a lifetime of that.

"Chuck?" Sarah said, asking for the attention of her table-mate.

"What's wrong?" He sounded concerned.

"I need a ride to my hotel. Could you please take me?"

"Are you feeling ok? We haven't even ordered food, but I've heard the food at this place is good."

"I'm not ordering food here, whatever happens next. I'm leaving with you right now, I'm calling for a cab, or I'm staying. That last option would result in an embarrassing situation with me leaving right afterwards, before eating."

The best way to avoid a scene created by the production she could see was coming was to get out before it started. It had taken her an instant to size up Chuck as a non-threat who put others' interests ahead of his own. He was the quickest option.

When she saw Chuck hesitating, she asked, "Is this some 'bro-code' thing? Is Bryce even your friend?" That last bit was a little presumptuous, but she could tell that Chuck was uncomfortable around Bryce. He had been bouncing between trying to act friendly, trying to not act foolish in front of a woman he thought was beautiful, and being wary of Bryce. Sarah sometimes went a couple years without seeing her mom, but their reactions towards each other were completely different.

Chuck started to shake his head no, indicating Bryce wasn't his friend, but stopped himself, making the reaction barely perceptible. Instead, he stood and pulled out Sarah's chair.

On the way out, Sarah thought of telling the violinist she saw in the tux that his services were no longer needed, but decided it was best to get out quickly. She was pretty sure Bryce didn't see them, not that it mattered. She didn't expect to work with him again. He'd get the message when he saw they were gone from the table.

Chuck apologized because of his car, but got the door for her. She'd admit a Toyota Yaris painted like a Tylenol gelcap was unusual, but she wasn't about to complain about the ride providing an escape from the averted disaster.

The only reason she could conceive for Bryce to want to marry her was to lock her into a permanent spy partnership, at least until one of them died in the line of duty. They had been together for two years, but she wasn't even sure they were "exclusively dating." She supposed they were because they were both too involved in work to date anyone else. At least she didn't have the time. On their Cabo trip, Sarah hadn't worried about about the incidents because she had figured Bryce couldn't help himself, but she saw him flirting with one woman he ran into at the bar and another he bumped into by the hotel pool. In missions, he was regularly seducing other women. She had always assumed it was for a cover, but he did suggest the technique a lot. Until tonight, she would have only thought of Bryce if she _had_ to come up with someone she had romantic interest in. After tonight, she'd fully focus on her job.

Sarah knew she was a great spy. She didn't need a permanent partner. Living without a man worked for her mom. Her mom hadn't avoided a disaster of a marriage, but she seemed better on her own. At least now, she just missed her daughter, instead of being unhappy with her husband who went through life fooling others.

Chuck drove the car out of the restaurant parking lot and towards her hotel. When they reached the 5, she asked, "What happened at Stanford, Chuck?" She knew there was a story there. She didn't want to keep believing another cover story from Bryce. She could at least make Chuck know that she accepted him, whatever his faults. She was positive her own past was far worse. Only Graham and her parents knew about her life of crime before high school. It just made her accepting of a bad past, as long as the person wasn't an enemy of the United States.

"Oh, it's no big deal," Chuck tried to deflect.

"It's ok. I'm sure it was Bryce's fault."

Chuck stayed mute on the subject. Sarah could imagine he was biting his tongue.

She tried again. "Whatever happened, I do mean it when I say it won't bother me. You rescued me tonight. I almost never need to be rescued. As my hero, I'm on your side. I'm just really curious. I could tell I wasn't hearing the truth back there, and I'm really curious. I guess you could say I don't like secrets. You were smart enough to help other Stanford students with engineering classes. Why did your path lead you to the Buy More?"

Chuck mumbled something, so Sarah asked him to repeat, saying once again that she was on Chuck's side.

"I was accused of stealing a test and selling it to other students. They kicked me out of school during my last semester."

Sarah asked, "Why did Bryce frame you for stealing the test?"

"I didn't say Bryce did it," Chuck said. Sarah couldn't believe he was defending a guy who wasn't his friend, just because he didn't want to feel like he was accusing someone else.

"I say yet again, that I'm on your side. Did you steal the test?"

"No. Of course not," Chuck answered.

"Bryce is perfectly capable of doing that type of thing."

"He wasn't in the class. I'm the person that did so well on the test. No one else did. I simply didn't need the answer key."

"That's another indication that no one else had the answers. Someone else would have done well. That also means Bryce's motive wasn't money because the test wasn't really sold. It all sounds like a cover story to me. Did he steal your girlfriend or something? As long as I've known him, which is admittedly less time than you, he's been a womanizer." It hadn't bothered Sarah when he played that roll on missions because he was good at it and that's what the job required. Maybe the fact that she didn't care should have told her something.

Chuck shifted a bit in the driver's seat, but didn't answer. Sarah could tell he was uncomfortable. It was probably some notion of not saying something bad about someone else, even a person that deserved it.

Sarah answered for him, "He did. Didn't he? He lied and then stole your girlfriend. Did you actually stay friends with him even a little bit after that? Tonight, I could tell he hadn't talked to you, his so called 'best friend,' in years."

"No, I hadn't heard from him since I moved away from Stanford. I've been living with my sister and working at the same place as the guy who has been my best friend for the last twenty years. I only went tonight because my sister convinced me that I could get some closure. Driving his girlfriend away is not what I planned."

"I said several times before that I'm on your side. Now, I'm even more certain that is the best place to be. Bryce and my relationship developed from a common work life. But now that there is no longer an 'us' and we won't be working together, I can honestly say that he's a self-centered tool. Your life may not be what you dreamed, but you're better off away from him."

They pulled in front of Sarah's hotel to drop her off.

Sarah was thankful she was there, away from having to reject a public, unwanted marriage proposal that put her in the spotlight. Bryce was probably stupid enough to think something like Chuck would be his best man. She just had to get her luggage, get a separate room, and let Graham know she wanted different mission assignments going forward. He would understand and keep her busy on missions away from her former partner. She just needed to thank her rescuer again.

She turned one last time to her driver as he shyly said, "You're here." It seemed he still could barely look her in the eye. In Sarah's experience, most men would seize the opportunity to make a pass at her. It's not like she had been in anything close to the night's circumstance before, but she had been in others in which the man would presume he deserved a reward.

Sarah strongly said, "I can't emphasize enough how thankful I am to you for helping me tonight. I could have gotten out of there, but it would have created a scene, and my family has direct experience with a bad proposal at a restaurant. This one would have been rejected. You saved me from continuing the bad legacy by providing an easy exit."

Chuck smiled at the mention that he had helped. "Wait a second. I'll get your door."

Before he could move, Sarah reached out and placed her hand on his arm. He froze and looked at her hand in amazement. She said, "Thank you, but I can handle the door."

"Of course you can, ignore me. You're perfectly capable and probably one of those liberated women that wants to show what she can do. I meant no offense. Now I'm babbling and probably insulting you. It wasn't my intention."

Sarah had to cut this off. "Don't worry about it. It's sweet, but not necessary. You've had a bizarre evening, and there's no reason for you to keep bending over backwards for me when I can handle little things like that. Gentlemanly acts are always appreciated, but they are never expected. I should really go, but first…" She leaned over and gave Chuck a firm kiss on the check. "I'm really glad you were there for me tonight. Thank you. Goodbye, Chuck."

Chuck opened his mouth in surprise and raised his hand to his cheek where her lips had been. Before his brain could reboot, she was gone.

* * *

A/N, Song: "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" by Billy Joel. This chapter had a single scene. Sarah didn't want to make another one.


	2. Home Is Where the Heart Is

_Posted July 18, 2019_

A/N: Sarah didn't text message "DMPD'd" (_that_ is how brain melting Morgan spelled it), but even someone like Bryce, someone who could call a person a friend after getting them kicked out of college, should get the picture without having to rely on his spy sense, which he proved often misread the situation. (Seriously. Selling tests? That made the story more likely to be challenged and extremely unlikely to hold up under the tiniest bit of scrutiny. It was a bad story.) Alex didn't deserve the "frosted tips" treatment, but Bryce wasn't an innocent. No sympathy necessary.

Anyway...Sarah is now Bryce's ex. Now what?

* * *

Sarah walked out the front of the hotel and closed her cell phone. She had reported her status as a single agent to Director Graham, and he had promised her that her future missions would be solo or with partners other than her last one. He also said that he agreed with her decision to get out of there. He was surprised that she had trusted a civilian that she had just met, but he trusted her judgement that this person would rather be chivalrous than stick up for a person that he felt had betrayed him.

She didn't have to report back to headquarters for two days, but the hotel had no free rooms, so she just needed to get a cab to a new place, maybe catching a bite to eat on the way.

She was about to make another call, when she noticed a red and white car up a bit from the drop-off area. There was a chance Chuck had seen her in the mirror, so she decided she ought to at least acknowledge him and say hi. Plus he was cute when she flustered him. Meeting an honestly nice person had been the highlight of the day, which was saying something when she thought that it was going to be a real date but was almost a train wreck.

She knocked on the window of what he had called a "Nerd Herder." He looked up from the phone call he had just ended. The knock didn't startle him, but his shock at her being the one standing there was obvious as he dropped his phone between his seat and the center console. He unlocked the doors, and she claimed the passenger seat, leaving her suitcase next to the car on the sidewalk.

"Hi," she said with a smile.

"Hi," he said back, bewildered. "Do you need a fast getaway again?" he joked.

"Well, I just got off the phone with my boss—I know it's late in DC, but he always works late—and he assured me there is plenty of work around the world for me do so I won't have to be partnered with Bryce again. However, the hotel is full, so I can't get another room there. I was about to call a cab when I saw my only friend in town. What are _you_ still doing here?"

He said, "I just got off the phone with my sister. She's a doctor and has told me about too many car wrecks to risk talking and holding a phone while driving. I've been living in the same apartment as her since Stanford. Since I didn't eat, I was making sure I could still have leftovers at home. She was just happy I was no longer around Bryce. We both thought the invite was weird."

Sarah laughed. Then she asked, "Is there enough for two?"

Chuck wrinkled his brow. "Sure, there's probably enough for four. She always makes a lot. I was more checking that it wasn't packed away, so I could more easily eat it tonight. Leftover food from one of her meals is normally better than most restaurants."

"You've already protected me once tonight. By coincidence I haven't eaten either. Now I find out you have access to good food. Something about you makes me feel safe, so I wouldn't mind spending more time with you. Could I have dinner at your place?"

Sarah knew that was laying it on a little thick. She was very good at getting men to do what she wanted. This wasn't a mission, though. Everything she had said was true.

Earlierin the night, Bryce might have been her boyfriend. That was before she had realized how possessive he could be and that she didn't care nearly enough about him to commit to a lifetime with him. That was before she knew that he had screwed over his best friend to steal his girlfriend, then ignored the friend, and then expected no hard feelings. That was before she realized his behavior in Mexico back when they started dating wasn't because he couldn't help but be charming but was more likely because he was a horn dog. She had manipulated enough marks through the years that she knew she could get Chuck do what she wanted. However, he had wanted to help so much, it could scarcely be called trying for her. She could tell he wouldn't mind talking her home with him for dinner at all. The more surprising thing was she was actually looking forward to a home-cooked meal with this man who she had only met that night, more than she had looked forward to a date at a nice restaurant.

Chuck hesitated a few seconds. "What? Why? Are you sure?"

Sarah got out of the car, grabbed her suitcase, put it in the back seat, and bucked up. With a big grin on her face, she said, "Let's go."

* * *

Chuck and Sarah stood in the courtyard, just outside the front door of his apartment. He had the key in the lock but turned to talk to her before opening.

"I apologize in advance. My sister's the best, but she is bound to misinterpret, and she gets…excited. I haven't brought a woman home before, and I didn't warn her. She's going to assume…"

"What?"

"You know."

Sarah twisted her mouth into a smile. She'd expect most guys to practically present her like a prize they had won, even when there was nothing to brag about. Here Chuck was warning her about another woman misinterpreting the situation and making _her_ uncomfortable. He just kept being sweet. It didn't mean she couldn't tease him a little.

She slowly ran her hand down his arm and grasped his hand. She suggestively asked, "Why would she think something is going on, other then you are bringing a friend home for a bite to eat?" She punctuated the statement with a squeeze to his hand before letting go and giving him a wink.

Chuck said, "Sure, Morgan comes by to mooch food all of the time, but he does look like—" He motioned his hand up and down, indicating all of Sarah, from head to toe. "You know."

Sarah let out a little laugh, "I'll let you go first. Don't worry. I won't read into things." Considering how she felt drawn to Chuck more and more, she wasn't sure the situation _could_ be read too far. She went on missions around the world, far away from Echo Park, so starting something would be completely impractical. However, considering the absence of post-mission adrenaline or a tropical resort, she already felt more of a pull to Chuck than she ever did to Bryce. For now, she would only enjoy the unexpected opportunity to spend more time with a great guy, while not worrying about anything his sister might say.

Chuck gulped. "Right." He opened the door and went in.

From her position still outside the apartment, Sarah could hear Chuck greet his sister. Ellie said, "Sorry tonight was a bust, but that's unsurprising, considering it was Bryce's idea. Maybe he'll wait for more than five years next time—like forever. The food is still warming on the stove and in the oven."

Chuck said, "I assume there's enough for two. I didn't mention it earlier, because I didn't know at the time, but I brought a…friend who also missed dinner. I mentioned Bryce's ex-girlfriend whom I gave a ride to the hotel."

"Sure, that's no problem. People who were screwed over by that man are always welcome here."

Sarah took that moment to step through the door and into the apartment. Sarah saw a beautiful brunette woman with long hair—Chuck's older sister, Ellie. Upon seeing Sarah, Ellie put down the book that she had been reading, but didn't say anything. After a moment, the woman looked in stunned silence to her brother, back to Sarah, then back and forth between them again. Then she apologized, stood up, and welcomed Sarah into her home, offering her a seat in one of the living room chairs.

After a minute of exchanging pleasantries, Ellie started to the kitchen to serve up dinner. Chuck tried to say he'd do that, but his sister insisted that he stay with his guest. With just the two of them in the room, Chuck quietly apologized, yet again, saying this was just part of what he meant. He was expecting leftovers, not a meal presentation. Sarah knew Ellie was going out her way to be a hostess more than she needed to, but she really seemed to want to do it, and Chuck had given her the opportunity to avoid it. Sarah didn't mind. This way, Sarah got to spend time with Chuck instead of getting what she suspected would be a friendly "interrogation" from his sister. It was still early for that. Sarah had only kissed Chuck once on the check. A part of her couldn't help but mentally add, "so far." She was around virtually no "good guys" in her life, and this one was tall, cute, and had a smile that made her stomach flip. Fortunately, dinner was served before her thinking got carried away. Forget Ellie reading too much into the situation. Sarah was half-way there herself.

Ellie claimed an empty seat at the table, sitting with them as they ate. It was a little nosey if this had been a date, which it was _not_. For Sarah, having both Bartowski siblings at the table made the night more fun. The conversation was funny, and Sarah didn't have to lead any of it. That was good because she didn't consider herself funny, and whenever she had steered a conversation in the past, it always felt like she was playing a mark. It was much better to just be accepted.

The two didn't push into Sarah's past. It was just as well because that way she didn't have to make up a cover to hide her CIA and preteen con experiences.

Bryce did come up, though, which was to be expected because he was the reason the night started. Early on, Sarah explained Bryce was moving way too fast and after she took off the rosy-colored glasses, she could she most of his actions had selfish motives. After that brief explanation, the only Bryce-related topic that came up was Ellie inviting her into the "I Hate Bryce Larkin Club." Chuck, Ellie and Chuck's best friend, Morgan, were already officers of the fictional organization, but Ellie was sure there was a good position for her. The night had put Sarah's entire relationship with Bryce in a new light. She felt that she should be partially affiliated with the club just from hearing the horrible thing that Bryce did to the person he called his best friend. She only had Chuck's side of the story, but it made complete sense based on what she knew about the two men. Bryce was already in the CIA when it happened, he knew how to manipulate the situation, and he would consider any ends justifying the means, without worrying about the fall-out. Chuck would just be surprised at whatever someone he had trusted did, not putting up a fight or defending himself. Chuck didn't need the academic help and didn't need the money. He had been getting by on scholarship and living with his sister for several years. Ellie had been Chuck's pseudo-parent even before college. Sarah figured out that Ellie had just finished her residency at the time of Bryce's con, so the Bartowskis were already bringing in more money without Chuck having to resorti cheating and selling tests. Bryce had the obvious motive of wanting to date Chuck's girlfriend, whether he slept with her or not. He probably cared more about taking her away from Chuck than about the girl herself. He was also arrogant enough to think he wouldn't lose a friend over that and over not talking to him for five years.

The funniest thing that evening was probably hearing about 'Awesome.' Ellie chastised her brother for calling her boyfriend that. Devon, aka Captain Awesome, was working the night shift as a heart doctor. Chuck got his sister to admit to Sarah that everything Devon did, from working out to flossing, was awesome, but Ellie said that didn't mean he deserved the name. She finally got Chuck to drop it, embarrassing him by saying _everything_ he did was awesome.

To Sarah, the best thing was being a welcome audience to the sibling dynamic. From what she had heard over the years about brother/sister squabbles and from Sarah's own messy family situation, she had always figured it was a good thing she was an only child. Seeing a brother and sister that clearly cared about each other, no matter how much they teased each other, was refreshing.

Chuck had been right. The food was fantastic. Sarah couldn't believe it was just a regular, weekday meal for them. She had eaten at top restaurants around the world, and while she thought some were at the same level, she couldn't think of one she'd prefer. She supposed a certain restaurant in Paris might be reviewed at the top by people who did that sort of thing for a living. She knew that her dinner companions didn't leave with a good impression, and she didn't want to go back there. They _couldn't_ go back.

Chuck said, "Well, we should probably be heading out. It's late, and Sarah still needs to get a hotel room."

Ellie indicated the dirty dishes and said, "Don't worry about this stuff, Chuck. I'll clean up."

"Thanks, but I'll get it when I get back, sis."

Ellie waved him off, "Seriously, you get my dishes whenever I have to hurry to work at the hospital, and I still need to clean up what Devon left in the sink tonight on his rush to his shift."

"Well, thank you again." Chuck turned to Sarah. "I'd offer you a room, but we only have two."

As long as Chuck didn't have a single bed, that was enough for Sarah. Maybe even then. She didn't need a big bed or a separate bunk. _Wait. Where did that thought come from?_ She reined in her thoughts a little and said, "Tonight was lovely. I don't have to be back in DC until Wednesday—"

"Chuck doesn't work tomorrow, either," Ellie interjected.

Before Chuck could say anything, Sarah said, "That's great. Chuck, I'd like to see you again tomorrow. Unfortunately, I have to go someplace else to sleep tonight. I say unfortunately because ever since I started depending on you, I've been happy."

Chuck thought for a second and then said, "I suppose…nah."

"What?" Sarah insisted.

Chuck hesitated before saying, "I could take the couch, and you could sleep in my room."

Sarah quickly jumped on that suggestion. "That would be perfect." Then she backpedaled a bit. "If that's ok with you, Ellie. It's your home, too. I don't want to be an inconvenience."

Ellie had blocked her mouth with her drink mug, half-hiding her reaction to the sudden turn of events. Her eyes weren't hidden, and they were wide in surprise at idea of Sarah sleeping in Chuck's room. She carefully lowered her mug, and said, "Of course, I'd love to have you stay. I have to get up before 5:30 because I have an early shift, so I hope that won't bother you."

Sarah said, "Not at all. I'm used to weird hours. You know I work around the world. You don't want to know what time zone I was in two days ago." The doctor really didn't. The fact that Sarah was in that country was classified.

Ellie started clearing dishes. After showing Sarah to his room, Chuck went to get Sarah's suitcase from the car. His room was filled with movie posters and had a computer and a TV with a game system. The room looked more like a nerd hideout than a bachelor's pad. It was already straightened up so she could feel good that she wasn't going to be sleeping in a dump. She was glad, though not surprised, that Chuck kept it clean.

Chuck said he'd be right back. Sarah went straight to the laundry basket in the closet. Since she was going to have to leave in a couple days, she wanted Chuck's smell with her tonight. By the time Chuck had returned, she was dressed for bed in only a pair of boy shorts and one of Chuck's T-shirts. It looked like she had short-circuited Chuck's brain again. She took a dopp kit from her bag and headed to the bathroom. She said, "I'll just be a minute, so if you want to change in this room before I get back, you don't have much time. Or you can wait," she added with a wink as she left.

Sarah knew she was making things more difficult. Everything he did made it clear he was trying to be helpful, not make the moves on her. He wasn't trying to be her new boyfriend. She wasn't looking for one either. Dating a civilian wasn't practical when she traveled around the world for the Agency. She had once thought maybe another spy could be a good boyfriend, but tonight had made it clear than another spy was likely to look for an advantage in every situation and never care much about what she wanted. That was completely different than the people in this house that she had fallen in with. They honestly cared about others, even when they weren't trying to save the world. They made a virtual stranger feel at ease, without trying.

Chuck was making it more difficult too, just by being himself. He was mostly respectful with his eyes, but Sarah was experienced enough at noticing everything, so she had caught him a few instances. She found she liked being appreciated by someone trying so hard to be a gentleman. While she never needed a man's protection, she found herself liking when she looked up to talk to him. She had worn short heals the last couple years, not the spike heels that she preferred. Also, wearing Chuck's shirt, she _really_ liked how he smelled. She had never noticed a man's scent before. It made her feel better every time she took a breath in.

Sarah didn't get back to the room fast enough to catch Chuck changing—not that she really wanted to embarrass him _that_ much. Instead, she met him leaving his bedroom. Sarah put her hands on both of his forearms and looked him straight in the eyes. "I keep saying thank you, but that somehow feels inadequate. This evening turned out better than I could have possibly imagined. A messy situation turned into a fun time where I could just be myself. That turn of fortunes is because of you. Good night, Chuck." She kissed him on the cheek, pressing the side of her face hard against his as she gave him a full-body hug.

When she pulled back. Chuck had one of his frozen looks again, something Sarah found she regularly caused. She gave him a quick peck on the cheek with a playful slap to break him out of his daze.

"What is it?" she asked.

Chuck said with a smile, "Well, at least I'm going to have good dreams tonight. Don't worry, I'm respectful of women even in my dreams."

Sarah returned the smile and stepped by Chuck. She looked over her shoulder and saucily said to him, "You don't have to be _too_ respectful in your dreams, Chuck." She swung her hips a little for the couple steps to the bed, leaving Chuck to shut the door. She wasn't surprised he ended up on the other side of it. She was surprised that disappointed her a tiny bit. A moment later, she almost laughed at the thud she heard of Chuck's forehead dropping into the door.

* * *

A/N, Song: "Home is Where the Heart Is" by Firehouse. It's not really a Chuck-ish song, but the title matches. Elvis Presley and Lady Antebellum have songs with that title, too, but they aren't what I picked.


	3. Off the Pier

_Posted July 19, 2019_

* * *

Sarah was in trouble.

She couldn't remember ever sleeping as well as she did with Chuck's scent surrounding around her. She got up when Ellie did, of course. Her spy instincts woke her at the first sound of stirring in the house. Ellie showed Sarah where she could help herself to breakfast. Then she said a quick goodbye, repeating she was very glad Sarah chose to stay with them. Sarah knew she would see Ellie again that night at dinner, as well as the other doctor who lived in the apartment. Later that morning, Ellie's boyfriend, Devon, would be getting home after his night shift concluded, which happened to be when Ellie's started.

Ellie refrained from commenting that Sarah was still wearing Chuck's shirt, which she had worn as sleepwear. Sarah did catch the other woman checking out her attire, then looking to double-check to see Chuck still lying on the couch, sound asleep. Sarah didn't care what Ellie might imagine. Chuck's sister probably knew he wouldn't make a move and had just slept on the couch like he said he would.

After Ellie left, Sarah immediately returned to Chuck's bed, where she could be cocooned in the smell of Chuck again. After a couple hours, she heard Devon return and immediately crash in his bed. He didn't stop to floss, though. Sarah figured she might as well get up and get breakfast for herself.

She did find Devon's nutrishake premixed in a pitcher. It didn't look too "awesome." The night before, Chuck had called him a "health freak." Green drinks weren't her thing. She decided to pass on one of those, sticking with the grain cereal, fresh fruit, and orange juice full of vitamin C.

After she showered, she found Chuck was still asleep. She just knelt by him, running her hands softly though his hair.

She was definitely in trouble.

It's not like she needed to always have a boyfriend, and a relationship with a civilian was problematic at best. She simply couldn't help how she felt.

Initially, Chuck didn't stir, but after a couple minutes, she stilled her hand as she saw him sleepily wake up and smile at her. She was a little mad at herself for getting caught. In a daze, Chuck said, "You're so pretty," before falling back asleep. This time he had a small smile on his face.

Sarah took a chair and opened the paper, acting like she hadn't been watching over Chuck while he slept. A couple minutes later, Chuck woke up more fully, so Sarah stopped her ruse of reading the classifieds section.

"You're not a dream. You're really here," Chuck said in wonderment.

Chuck thought she was a dream? At least that was better than realizing what she actually was doing.

"I was just dreaming about you. Don't worry," he amended. "As I said last night, I'm always respectful to women in my dreams."

Sarah offered to help him with his breakfast. He declined, saying it was his home, and he also didn't want to risk getting Awesome's food, which Chuck said was _too_ nutritious. He didn't need a cleanse.

Chuck was part-way into his Berry Loops cereal, when he stopped and groaned in frustration. "I'm sorry, Sarah. While I don't work today, I just remembered that I have plans for lunch with Morgan."

"That's ok, Chuck. Don't let me disrupt your plans with her," Sarah said with a sly smile.

"You said last night that you're not funny. Nice try. Even though Morgan is sometimes a girl's name, this Morgan is a guy—that best friend who we mentioned last night."

Sarah gave him a teasing wink and said, "I know. It's ok. Maybe I can be a third wheel."

Chuck blinked. He blinked again and said, "Of course I don't want to abandon you today, but I'm sure you don't want to go to the video arcade at the Santa Monica Pier."

"Why not? That's by a great beach that I've been told I should see. Besides, I have to meet my fellow club members."

Sarah managed to convince Chuck, so after he showered and dressed, they both headed to the Pier. They still took the company car. It seemed like Chuck was allowed to use it as his personal vehicle even when he wasn't working. She could only imagine how much someone who should have graduated from Stanford was relied upon at that place.

Inside one of the open-aired buildings at the Santa Monica Pier, Chuck looked over the crowd for Morgan. When he spotted him, he darted off to greet his friend. Sarah followed. At least with the prevalence of leggy blondes in Southern California, she didn't stick out _too_ much.

As she approached Chuck, his back turned so he was looking away from her, the little man that he was with, "Stop the presses. Vicki Vale."

Before Chuck could react, she stepped up, put out a hand and said, "Hi. You must be Chuck's best friend, Morgan. I'm Chuck's newest friend, Sarah."

Morgan took Sarah's hand, pulled it up to his mouth, and gave the back of her hand a kiss. "Mademoiselle Sarah."

"Easy there, Morgan," Chuck said. Sarah thought the buffoonish over-acting was kind of cute.

Morgan questioned, "If she's your friend, does that mean she's here with you? The evil one isn't around, is he?"

Chuck said, "I met her at dinner last night. She's with me. We haven't seen Bryce since last night."

"Did she escape your nemesis, too?"

"She left the restaurant with me. She was his girlfriend before. I wouldn't exactly call it escape."

It felt like an escape to Sarah, despite the lack of gunfire. Morgan's eyes shot directly to her, and he narrowed them.

Sarah quickly clarified, "He's my _ex_. Chuck rescued me, took me to his home to eat, and gave me a place to sleep."

Chuck added, "Ellie made extras, like she normally does."

"Ah. So now you're Chuck's friend. If it wasn't obvious to you before, Ellie's cooking would've sealed the deal. Just so you know, even if you're his friend, I'm still his _best_ friend. And Ellie is _my_ girl."

Chuck cleared his throat. "Ellie is _Awesome's_ girl."

"Whatever." Morgan waved the comment off. Sarah couldn't hide her amusement, but she did manage to hold in a laugh at the interplay. She was normally around so many people who were playing an angle or simply were willing to hurt others for their selfish gain, it was nice to see the antics of people that didn't hide what they thought or try to manipulate the situation. Morgan asked Chuck, "What are you doing here?"

"We made plans, buddy. Sarah insisted on coming, too."

"We had plans before you discovered this angel. You two go have fun without me. I can ride my bike home."

"Are you sure?" Chuck questioned.

"Go. Go. I'll be fine. But Sarah, could you give Chuck and me a minute?"

Sarah agreed, and Morgan took his friend a dozen feet away to the other side of the crowded area between the rows of game machines. It was clear that he wanted to talk to Chuck about her. She couldn't help but wonder what they were talking about, so after exactly one minute, she did what a spy would do. She walked up behind Moran to listen. Chuck saw her, of course, because she wasn't trying to be covert. She met his eyes, and they were dancing as Morgan continued to ramble. Chuck didn't reveal her presence, though.

Sarah could hear Morgan saying, "I know you can do this, but be careful. She was with _Bryce_. If it goes badly, know that I'm here for you, like I always am."

Sarah spoke up, "Thank you, Morgan. I trust you to protect my hero when I can't." She gave Morgan a peck on the cheek. He looked frozen like Chuck frequently did. Unlike Chuck, who usually looked happy and amazed, Morgan looked almost catatonic.

Sarah patted Morgan lightly on the shoulder and said, "It was good to meet you, Morgan. Chuck, what do they have for lunch around here?" The two of them left the bearded man behind.

Chuck brought Sarah to one food stand and said, "Here were have corn dogs."

"What?"

"A corn dog is a hot dog on a stick covered with a fried shell made from cornmeal."

"I know what a corn dog is. I haven't had one in about fifteen years when my dad bought me one at a county fair. I can't believe they still serve those things as food."

Chuck shrugged. "It's a hot dog. Any food with a hot dog is appealing at a place like this. Just like anything is better with bacon."

"But that isn't really corn," Sarah argued. "Sorry, that came out stronger than I meant. As a kid, I spent some time in the Midwest. I guess it made me a corn snob. Cornmeal doesn't count as corn. Corn is better when it's bought off of a truck, just picked from the field. Anyway. What else do they have around here?"

"Well, the next place has burgers, but they are kind of messy."

"That'll work."

Sarah walked up to the counter and ordered. "One cheeseburger. Extra pickles."

At a table that they claimed for their lunch, Sarah moved her place from its original position that Chuck had set up across from him to a place she could sit right next to him. They didn't hold hands, but they brushed against each other several times. Sarah would never admit it was intentional, but who was she kidding?

After lunch, they took a stroll down the beach. Despite it being midday in the middle of the summer, it felt very nice in the ocean breeze. Chuck talked quite a bit, but he never put Sarah on the spot to talk herself. She found his voice soothing. She had no more doubt. She was _gone_. She was disappointed she was to leave the next day.

At an open spot on the beach, Sarah decided to take a seat. Chuck stood silently beside her. She took his hand and pulled him down to sit at her side. Sarah thought the waves were peaceful. She didn't have to worry about anything and could just think. After a few minutes, she pulled Chuck closer and tilted her head to his shoulder.

They continued to just sit there and watch the ocean tide. Sarah never remembered feeling so content. Her entire time in the CIA, she had been driven by her need to be the best agent she could be, to make up for her past. Sitting on the beach with Chuck, she could just be.

Minutes became hours. Every so often, she pulled him closer until she clung both of her arms around one of his. She took a quick glance at Chuck a couple times. He just had a small, peaceful smile on his face. She finally put his arm around her shoulders.

The sunset was beautiful. It was close to 8pm, and most people on the beach had gone home a couple hours before. Chuck finally spoke for the first time in hours, saying they should probably go because it was getting dark and dinner was at 8:30pm. Dinner was planned for that late time so it would be after Ellie got home from the hospital. Sarah had been so comfortable, she hadn't realized she was hungry. She did like the idea of seeing Ellie again, and her stomach growled at the thought of another one of her meals. She also kind of wanted to meet this awesome guy that she had heard so much about.

The two of them returned to the car, this time, holding hands.

Back at the apartment, dinner was once again great. Devon lived up to the "Awesome" moniker. Ellie had said he didn't like the name, but he sure used the word a lot. He was incredibly upbeat, and Sarah wasn't sure he could hide something if he tried. He'd be a horrible spy. The thing that was obvious to Sarah was that everything he did was about making Ellie happy. If Sarah hadn't seen it herself, Devon and Ellie were almost too perfect together to be believed.

Devon didn't have much of a filter, though. Ellie always seemed like she was barely containing that enthusiasm that Chuck had warned her about. Devon was nothing but supportive of Chuck, practically treating him like a little brother. However, some of that support wasn't quite explicit, but suggestive. It made Chuck squirm. Sarah supposed that was the role of a big brother. Devon never went what could be considered "too far" with Sarah in the conversation, though. She couldn't be embarrassed that easily, anyway. Devon just made her wish she was always part of this unusual, but supportive family. They could say things to each other, but it was always obvious they weren't putting each other down.

Dinner started and finished late, but considering Ellie had gotten home late, Devon had slept most of the day, and Chuck didn't have to go in to work until 4pm the next day, they started a late movie after eating. Ellie and Devon claimed one end of the couch. Sarah pulled Chuck down with her to snuggle at the other end. He whispered to her, "What are you doing?"

Sarah answered by whispering in his ear, "Sitting where I want to sit: on you."

Sarah didn't remember any of the movie because she wasn't really watching it, but she thoroughly enjoyed the evening.

After the movie, it was time for bed again. Sarah claimed a new shirt of Chuck's that smelled like him. She kissed him goodnight on the cheek again, this time lingering and catching the corner of his mouth.

Very early the next morning, Sarah returned from her run to find Devon hanging upside-down in the hallway in front of the bathroom. Chuck remained asleep on the couch. They had a couple hours before it was time to leave for the airport.

Devon said, "You run in the mornings? Awesome. What route did you take?" He did another upside-down, hanging sit-up.

Sarah said, "I ran up to the Griffith Park Merry-Go-Round and back. It was about fifteen kilometers."

"Woah." Devon stopped.

Sarah shrugged. It wasn't _that_ far for her. "Excuse me. Could I?" She pointed to the door of Chuck's bedroom then to the bathroom.

"Of course." He pulled up, out of her way, then released himself to drop to his feet on the floor.

The rest of the morning, Devon looked at her differently. He had never had a cocky or ravenous, look. The previous night, his eyes only showed love for Ellie. Now Sarah saw that when Devon looked at her, his eyes showed respect. She was sure he had gone many times before on a run like the one she had taken. She thought maybe he didn't work out like that when traveling. Sarah was used to going for runs over rough terrain to stay in shape in foreign countries, so running in a new place seemed normal to her.

When Chuck got up, he seemed a little sad. She understood that feeling perfectly. She was feeling it herself because she was going away that morning. She could tell Chuck was trying to be upbeat and smile at her, even though the smile didn't reach his eyes. He had been given such a tough deal in life that she supposed he had a lot of practice trying to stay positive. She had picked up enough the last couple days to know that Chuck's dad had been out of the picture since high school and his mom for much longer. She didn't know more details, just that it was amazing that Chuck was still a great guy.

As Chuck drove her to the airport, she held his right hand between them. Neither of them knew what to say. She had never expected to not want to go on the next mission so much.

At the drop-off area in front of the terminal, Chuck left the car running as he got Sarah's suitcase out of the car for her. Standing face-to-face on the sidewalk, it was time to say goodbye. She had never known the right thing to say in important moments like that. She took Chuck's face in her hands and gave him a full kiss on the lips. It wasn't a brief kiss. It quickly escalated with them pulling at each other.

After a few moments, they separated and said farewell.

On the plane, Sarah's eyes were filled with water, and she hadn't even forced it. Once in the past, she didn't cry when she had a knife wound stitched up without anesthesia. However, saying goodbye to Chuck twisted her insides into knots.

* * *

A/N: Someone pointed out something last chapter, and I'm blatantly ignoring the advice to keep the 'secret.' I completely agree that dinner should have been used more in the show. I've also read multiple good arguments that Chuck vs the Baby would have worked as a series finale, with that family get-together being a fine penultimate scene. This story doesn't end after a happy family dinner scenes, though. Don't worry. No one says "One Last Mission."

Songs:  
\- "Off the Pier" by The Warrains. (Thanks fezzywhigg)  
\- "River and Roads" by The Head and The Heart. What else are you supposed to listen to at the beach while watching the tide? Well, there's another song, but Chuck and Sarah's song choice depends on who is more contemplative. This one is for Sarah, and that one is for Chuck.

(Songs were added to chapters 1 and 2, obvious ones based on the chapter titles.)


	4. She is touring the facility

_Posted July 20, 2019_

* * *

_**Two weeks later**_

"Stop the presses!" Morgan said to Chuck, who was standing behind the Nerd Herd desk, waiting on hold.

Chuck, absentmindedly looking down, started a playful chant, "Vicky Vale. Vi-Vicky Vale. Vickity, Vickity, Vicky Vale."

"No, dude. Sarah Walker."

Chuck let the phone slip from under his neck and looked up. His eyes immediately locked with Sarah's. After they stared at each other, her smile, her whole face glowed. Chuck's face was stuck in happy, but frozen amazement.

When she reached the Nerd Herd station, Chuck was still in shock. Morgan's mouth had dropped open too. Sarah turned to Morgan and said, "Hi, Morgan. Thank you for taking care of my Chuck while I was gone. I've got it from here."

Morgan straighten a little, bowed with a flourish, and moved away, leaving Sarah and Chuck alone at the desk.

By that time, Chuck's face had a huge smile, but he was not frozen so he could speak. He asked, "Why are you here?"

"To see you."

She grabbed his grey tie and pulled across the counter for a strong kiss.

After a minute, he pulled back with a blush. "Sorry. I'm really happy you are here. I never expected to see you again. I'm just not really good at public displays of affection." He wrinkled his forehead before asking, "How did you get here?"

Sarah loosely held on to Chuck's tie, maintaining a connection. They both were leaning across the counter, talking mere inches apart. "I took a taxi directly from the airport."

"How did you know I—" Chuck was interrupted by a clearing of the throat from a middle-aged woman with a scowl on her face. She was waiting at another place at the long counter of the Nerd Herd station. Chuck said to Sarah, "Sorry, just a minute. Back to work." He turned to focus on the woman. "How can I help you ma'am?"

The woman was picking up the computer that she had dropped off the day before. Over a dozen people had come in with the same ransomware troubles. He explained the machine has been made completely safe. On the computers, he had left a desktop shortcut to a program that he recommended running right away when she got home. It would help download an update for the network router firmware for a dozen different brands. The update would prevent further attacks like the one the ransomware threatened to use.

When Chuck was done, he tried to return his attention to Sarah, but he was stopped by Harry Tang. Harry angrily said, "What are you doing, Chuck? You shouldn't be hitting on customers. If this woman wants to buy something, she doesn't need to wait for you. There are plenty of salesmen that can help." He turned to Sarah, trying to sound more genteel. "I'm sorry, Miss. If you have a question about various things we sell, any of the Buy More salesmen in the green Polos would be happy to help. Since I'm here, I'd be glad to answer your questions."

Sarah looked to Chuck and rolled her eyes before looking back to the short, bald man who was not "harry" and who had prevented them from talking. "Thank you…" Sarah looked at the yellow name tag. "Harry. I'm not here to ask a question about any of your store's merchandise. I'm here to see Chuck. If I had a sales question, I'd talk to Morgan." She pointed to the place that he had not-so-discreetly hidden to get out of the way a few minutes earlier.

Harry looked like he wanted to say something. Maybe he once again expected the Nerd Herd Supervisor to report to the Sales Supervisor. He held his tongue, though.

Bike Mike joined them and asked, "What's the problem here? I'm sorry for any trouble, Miss."

She quickly cut him off, saying, "There's no problem. I just came to see Chuck, and Harry, here, thought Chuck was poaching sales that the employees in the green Polos are supposed to get credit for. That was never my intention. If I need to buy something, I'm sure Morgan can help."

"I see. Bartowski! What are you doing here? I thought you had the day off."

Chuck said, "Technically, I do, but I thought I'd handle the machine returns for the large volume of jobs we had yesterday, instead of leaving them for Jeff or Lester."

"I see. Chuck, stop being such a good worker and make Skip do it. Harry, stop scaring the customers." Bike Mike stalked off, and Harry made himself scarce.

Chuck turned to Sarah, first with a neutral expression, but soon the two of them were smiling at each other with big grins like idiots. Chuck asked, "Why _are_ you here?"

Sarah replied, "I just returned states-side from a trip, and I missed you. I figured I should fix that, so like I said, I'm here to see you."

An instant later, Morgan appeared and said, "I'll clock you out, Chuck. Sarah, it was a pleasure to see you again. He's all yours."

Sarah's smile was so big, it was a wonder her face didn't split open. She replied to Morgan, "I like the sound of that. Chuck, could you please take me to my favorite hotel?" She reached out, grabbed his hand, and said, "Chuck, what's the fastest way to your car?"

* * *

Ellie pulled out her keys to unlock the apartment. She wondered if Chuck would be home. He was supposed to have the day off, but he had told her that he was going to work for a little bit to take care of some things because he really didn't trust them to Jeff and Lester. Knowing Chuck, he'd stay and keep helping. Whenever he did something like that, they wouldn't pay him overtime, but he'd still get paid as long as he didn't do it too much. Morgan would probably keep providing reasons for Chuck to stay, not that the little man was working hard himself. He just wanted to hang out with Chuck.

Ellie didn't have much time, though. She wanted to shower before her date with Devon that night. They were going for a bit of a celebration. They both had moved up the seniority ranks enough that they would be primarily getting day shifts at the hospital going forward. That meant the two of them could spend more time together in the evenings and on weekends, instead of seeing each other about three nights a week, plus maybe one day on the weekend.

She opened the door to a sight she was not expecting. A blonde woman was on top of her brother on the couch—the two of them making out.

The two on the couch stopped, and without looking, the woman said, "Hi, Ellie."

Ellie dropped her purse straight to the ground. That was Sarah's voice.

Chuck quickly sat up, his face changing from flushed red to a deep, embarrassed red. Sarah stood up, crossed the room, and gave Ellie a hug in greeting. Before Ellie could process, Sarah went back to Chuck and helped him up, standing directly in front of him. Ellie could still see Chuck was buttoning up the top of his shirt. Sarah wasn't blocking that view very well. It was probably a good thing Ellie didn't get home five minutes later.

"It's great to see you, Sarah. We didn't think you'd be back."

"Until yesterday, I didn't even know I'd have the opportunity to come back. I found Chuck at the Buy More a few hours ago, and we came here."

A few hours and they were still on the sofa? Ellie thought maybe five minutes wouldn't have made a difference.

Chuck said, "Sarah said she really liked staying here last time. It's ok if she stays here tonight, isn't it? She's leaving tomorrow."

"Of course," Ellie answered.

"I'll just get a blanket for the sofa," Chuck said.

Before he could move, Sarah said, "You don't need that this time, Chuck."

Everyone was quiet for a moment. Ellie finally said, "Well, it's great to see you, Sarah. With you here, I'm a little disappointed that Devon and I are going out for dinner tonight so we can't have dinner together."

"That's ok, Ellie," Sarah said. "Chuck and I can go out." She smiled and turned to Chuck. "Chuck," she started coyly, "will you go on a date with me?"

Chuck said, "Well, I can't say anything but yes to that. I know just the place."

Sarah said, "Great," giving Chuck a strong kiss on the lips.

* * *

Dinner had a cheesy mariachi band playing in the background, but the Mexican food was good. Chuck kept Sarah laughing throughout the meal. Sarah acknowledged to herself that she felt very disappointed that she had to leave him so soon. At least she wasn't sitting home alone wishing she could see Chuck instead. She didn't know when she could be back, but she greatly preferred this plan of seeing Chuck every so often over just wishing she would ever see him again. She had been back in Southern California less than a day, but she already knew coming back was a forgone conclusion.

After dinner, Chuck suggested going to a nearby dance club. Sarah said there was no need. She knew of a bed that was currently unoccupied. Neither one slept for a few hours because they were busy not sleeping. After that, they both slept extremely well, entwined together.

Their goodbyes the next day at the airport was much the same as last time, even though the kiss wasn't a surprise like before. The kiss was just as aggressive, but didn't go on for too long. The passion was probably controllable because of the two hours that they had spent in bed together after they both had woken earlier that morning.

As Chuck drove home, his heart wasn't breaking like before, and he wasn't thinking about a lost opportunity. Instead, his heart was lighter and more hopeful.

* * *

A/N: If you thought that was fast, hang on.

Song: "Short Skirt/Long Jacket" by Cake


	5. She's Got a Plan

_Posted July 22, 2019_

* * *

**September 10, 2007**

Sitting at the Nerd Herd help station, reviewing the past week's work orders, Chuck tried for probably the fifth time in the last hour to focus. His mind kept drifting to Sarah.

She had only come to visit twice since that first time she surprised him at the Buy More. It wasn't quite "love at first sight," but it was very close. It might have taken a whole hour for them to reach something that could be called "love." Three months ago, Chuck didn't think he was ready for a relationship with anyone, but a few weeks ago, Sarah had officially given him the responsibility of being her baggage handler. Having any relationship was not on the mental draft for his five-year plan. With Sarah, something special was there. They both felt it. Since she first came to surprise him at the store, they had been virtually inseparable.

Well, they were inseparable when Sarah was not traveling around the world for work. Ellie and Devon saw each other more, but not much more. As two doctors just out of school, their crazy schedules were often very incompatible, even with them being "more compatible." Sarah's work obligations pulled her away from Chuck, but she kept coming back. In between, they just sent each other daily, three-letter text messages saying, "ILU." When it became clear they were going to see each other more in the future, they didn't balk at using the four-letter word. In their text messages, they just abbreviated the phrase to three-letters that were faster to type.

Lester slid up to Chuck's side in the Nerd Herd station and said, "It looks like you're getting another booty call. This time, she brought Elizabeth with her."

The thought both excited and disturbed Chuck. He figured out Lester meant Ellie was there too, the oily man never getting her name right and call her Eleanor. The thought of Sarah bringing his sister along for a "booty call" was gross at a couple levels. What Sarah and Chuck had was so much more than "booty calls."

Admittedly, they did spend a lot of time in his bed. However, one time Sarah insisted on inviting Morgan with them to see the Simpson Movie, not that she ever understood why the people were yellow. It seemed like she wanted to spent time doing something normal with Chuck and his best friend, more than seeing a movie based on a TV show that she hadn't seen. Another time, Chuck and Saran had a game night versus Ellie and Awesome. Chuck and Sarah were trounced in Pictionary. Neither one of them had good drawing skills, with Sarah's making his look decent. Sarah destroyed them all at Scrabble, even after they ruled that Polish words weren't allowed. One night, she played Duck Hunt with Chuck when she surprised him at the apartment and found him playing video games. After that experience, he was pretty sure they weren't playing shooting games together again, unless he could have Sarah on his team as a ringer. Sarah clearly wanted to be part of Chuck's life outside of the bedroom.

The import thing, though, was that Sarah was there at the Buy More. That was exciting.

He stood up and spotted Sarah immediately. They only broke eye contact for a moment as Chuck looked for his sister. She was walking over to Morgan. That was odd. After sharing a long welcome back kiss with Sarah, Chuck looked again for his sister. She had pulled Morgan a couple aisles away from Chuck and Sarah's position in the center aisle between the Nerd Herd desk and the front doors. Ellie didn't look inconspicuous, her actions made her attempt look feeble. Her sudden interest in rap music CDs was unconvincing. Morgan wasn't even trying to not look towards his best friend and his girlfriend.

Chuck gave Sarah a full, but quick kiss before saying, "Once again, you made my day by just being here. Did you have Ellie drive you from the airport?"

Sarah said, "No. I asked her to meet me here, and once here, I asked her find Morgan. I drove myself."

That didn't make sense. "How did you manage that? Did you rent a car this time?"

"I drove my car."

"You don't have a car in Los Angeles."

"I do now. I thought it would be helpful whenever I see you. That's not important at the moment. I'll explain more later. First, I have an important question."

Sarah took a step back, took Chuck's hands between hers, and got down on one knee.

The store was dead quiet, except for one gasp Chuck heard. Someone had even silenced the store musak.

Sarah and Chuck's eyes remained locked as she asked, "Chuck Irving Bartowski, will you marry me?"

Time froze for Chuck. His heart leapt. Almost involuntarily, he breathlessly said, "Yeah."

Sarah released a toothy grin, but asked for confirmation, "Was that a 'yes?'"

Chuck confirmed, "Yes. I can't imagine not wanting to spend the rest of my life with you."

Sarah stood and her lips immediately met Chuck's. They didn't separate for a couple minutes. When Chuck and Sarah did break apart, he looked over to his sister and best friend who were obviously there to watch the moment. Chuck saw Ellie release Morgan from a strong hug. Morgan looked a little wobbly on his feet. His sister didn't appear to care that she had violated the no touching policy that she had put in place over a decade before. She wiped her eyes as she started crying happy tears.

Chuck held his new fiancée in a tight, full body hug. He knew they didn't know each other that well in the grand scheme of things, but sometimes you just knew what was destined to be. With Sarah always traveling, he expected the engagement to be long, giving them more time to get to know each other. They'd end up in the same place.

Sarah said in Chuck's ear, "I want a short engagement—a very short one. In fact…is there some place we can talk?"

That didn't fit with Chuck's expectations. He said they could go to the home theater room. They held hands as he led her to the away from employee and customer spectators.

Sarah said, "Don't worry, we won't be long, so no one will think we're celebrating. We'll have time for that later tonight."

Chuck hadn't thought of what other people might think they were doing in here. Sarah had been making his aversion to PDA disappear whenever she was around.

In the home theater room with the doors shut and the curtains drawn, Sarah and Chuck sat where they could easily look at each other, in the sofa and a chair, adjacent and at an angle.

Sarah started, "I'm not pregnant either."

That was another thing Chuck hadn't thought of. Part of him was excited beyond belief that he was engaged to this wonderful woman that he met only two months before, and the rest of him was waiting for the other shoe to drop. It didn't leave him much thinking power to imagine what might be coming.

Chuck asked the greatest fear which had managed to spring to his mind. "Is this because of what Bryce was doing the night we met?" He didn't want to marry Sarah just because she saw Bryce as the alternative and wanted to marry someone.

"No. This has nothing to do with him. I didn't love him. I love you. At least that is what I call it. I've never been in love before, and what I feel is so much more than I thought love was. I feel it when I simply think about you."

"And I love you. But why can't we just have a long engagement, giving us time to learn more about each other?"

"We could, or we get to know each other as a married couple, instead of getting to know each other as an engaged couple. I don't need a big wedding. We should go get married tonight."

"You want to elope?" Chuck asked with surprise.

"Not quite. We don't need to run away from everyone and hide our marriage ceremony. I invited Ellie to take Morgan ahead of us to Vegas. I'm sure the store can do without him for a couple hours, and he has said he likes getting out of work. Ellie told me Devon is doing an early surgery tomorrow and can't make it, but at least the two of them can be there. My mom is already on her way, ahead of us."

"Already? You just asked me."

"If you don't want to get married tonight, I'll call her and ask her to turn around and meet us for dinner around here. I was thinking the best possible thing would happen because you've always made the best possible things happen for me."

Chuck still couldn't believe it. "You really want to get married to me in Vegas tonight?"

"Absolutely. Chuck, you're a gift. You're a gift I never dreamed I could want or need, and everyday I'm with you, I will show you that you're a gift that I deserve. You make me the best person I could ever hope to be, and I want to spend and learn and love the rest of my life with you. Wherever I am, I want to know my husband is back home for me."

Chuck just smiled. He finally said, "Wow. Let's start that today." He leaned in for a kiss. He suddenly pulled back and frowned. "Wait. Morgan can leave early, but I shouldn't. I couldn't pull the 'I'm sick' card, because everyone would know I'm not really sick after what they just saw happen. I'm sure an "I'm getting married" card would work, but it doesn't matter. I'm off work the next two days. I have to make work assignments for next week so the people I'm in charge of will know if they need to come in the day after tomorrow. I have two more hours in my shift, and I was going to fill out the schedule in about a half hour."

Sarah shrugged and said, "That'll work. We'll get there the same time as everyone else."

Once again, that didn't make sense to Chuck. "It takes four hours to get there. We'll start when they're past Barstow."

"We'll catch up." Sarah stood up and took Chuck's hand. "Come with me."

She led him out to the parking lot and her car, a black Porsche.

"Wow. That's yours?"

"After tonight, I'll add your name to the title, making it ours."

"I still don't see how that gets us to Vegas in two hours. Teleporters are fictional, but I assume that is not what you were thinking."

Sarah said, "Full disclosure. I didn't buy that car in LA, and I didn't fly in to LAX. I just plan on leaving the car here. I drove from DC and know the car runs well when going over 120 for several hours."

Chuck said with surprise, "That's not simply speeding. That's flying. We can't go that fast."

Sarah confidently said, "I wouldn't recommend it for others, but it's something I've done a few times. I have a full tank now, but we might have to fill up twice on the way there. I'm not trying to scare you Chuck. This is something I can easily do. I never thought I'd want to get married, but I definitely don't want to be late getting married to you."

Sarah sealed her argument with a kiss, and with that, Chuck wasn't going to argue. He just figured they'd try and be a little late. There wasn't going to be a wedding without them.

Back in the store, Ellie gave them both a congratulatory hug. Then Morgan did the same. Sarah asked Ellie to be her maid-of-honor. Ellie barley held in more happy tears as she accepted. She said she and Morgan would be there and then said, so all four of them could hear, that Morgan would _behave_. Morgan claimed to not know what she was talking about, but as part of his best man duties, he would do exactly what the maid-of-honor said. That seemed to work for Ellie, so the two of them left.

Chuck returned to work, and Sarah took a recliner from the pair in front of a TV that had been set up for a display on the showroom floor store. She turned the chair so she could watch Chuck instead of the big screen TV in front of it. Someone might say it was almost creepy, having someone stare at you while you worked. That person hadn't had Jeff do that before, demonstrating real creepiness. He had done that the week before and a couple more times over the last few months. He probably wasn't trying to stare. He was just holding his typical brain-dead expression as he was hungover and absent of thought.

Without having to daydream to see Sarah, it was much faster to check the work-orders. Chuck also completed the Nerd Herd work schedule quickly. The rest of the time was highlighted with a congratulations from Big Mike, the total absence of Harry Tang, and impromptu kisses with his fiancée whenever he walked by. He helped half a dozen customers, but no one had problems that were too serious.

With fifteen minutes left in Chuck's shift, Big Mike asked Chuck why he was still there. Chuck figured that they could use the extra time to get to Vegas, so he grabbed Sarah, and they left.

Once Sarah hit the open highway, he discovered they didn't need the extra time. Sarah was completely at ease, confidently handling a car that was practically an airplane on the ground. Last time Sarah had visited, he discovered she had a pilot's license. It wasn't just for prop planes. She had experience flying jets. On the highway between Los Angeles and Las Vegas, she demonstrated she could handle a car going twice the speed limit, as well.

Chuck was fascinated with a small device with a screen that she put on her dash. It showed what cars they were approaching a couple miles ahead, providing extra warning as they quickly approached. Chuck hadn't seen anything like it before. He figured it used radar. Sarah caught him reaching to take a closer look, but she took his hand between them and said to relax and to stop holding the door so hard. The top speed of a Porsche was over forty miles per hour faster than she was driving, so there was no need for a white-knuckled grip.

They reached the chapel second. Sarah's mom, Emma, was first, having left an hour earlier than Ellie and Morgan, almost three hours before Chuck and Sarah. The engaged couple beat Morgan and Ellie, though. Chuck had thought he had seen them pass Ellie's car just before entering the city.

Ignoring the insanity of the circumstances, Chuck was simply thrilled to meet a member of Sarah's family, her mom Emma. Chuck didn't know the details of Sarah and her mom's relationship because Sarah wasn't forthcoming. Chuck just knew she had been estranged from her mom for most of her adolescence, after Sarah had left with dad. Over the last ten years or so, Emma and Sarah had mended some fences, but the relationship was still awkward. Whatever the nature of their relationship was now, Emma was the one person Sarah wanted at her wedding, just like Sarah had invited Chuck's sister and his best friend/heterosexual life-partner/practically brother. Chuck and Sarah both had their closest family with them as they said their vows to each other.

To Chuck, Emma seemed perfectly nice. It was clear she was barely involved in Sarah's life, but deeply cared that her daughter be happy. She thanked Chuck several times for making Sarah so happy and thanked Ellie and Morgan for being such good friends to her.

The wedding was the simple package, which is probably just as well. From Chuck's perspective, the whole thing came together so fast, they didn't need frills that might confuse them. Chuck found out that Sarah had ordered her dress and the guys' tuxes during her drive across the country. She also delighted the women when they discovered she had ordered new dresses for them as well, of the correct sizes.

Before the wedding started, Ellie discretely passed Chuck a black pouch to give Sarah so he could give her the heirloom to welcome her into the family. Sarah wore her silver bracelet throughout the ceremony.

Afterwards, they didn't really have a reception. They just gathered in the lobby of the Vegas chapel. They discovered that throughout that ceremony, Emma had held in the happy tears better than Morgan. Instead of forgoing the bouquet toss at a tiny wedding, Sarah handed her new sister-in-law her bouquet of gardenias directly and said it was hers. Before everyone headed to their rooms for the night, they all said goodbyes, sharing their love throughout the new combined family. Morgan asked Sarah to take care of their boy. She said she would, but she expected him to continue to do it when she couldn't. Emma thanked Ellie for raising such a good man. Emma didn't let go of her daughter for a long time. Ellie wasn't successful at holding back more tears.

Chuck was almost certain the entire day had been a wonderful, very vivid dream. He led Mrs Bartowski to their room for the next two nights in the Paris Casino. He didn't know if they'd ever go up in that replica of the Eiffel tower, but he knew that they wouldn't be spending any other time outside of their room.

Chuck carried Sarah across the threshold. Inside the room, their lips remained attached as they made their way from the door to the bed. However, short of what he thought was their destination, Sarah stopped, put her hand on Chuck's chest, and pushed back a little.

Sarah said, "I want that too, but this is important. We have to do this first." She went over to her suitcase, which the bellhop had delivered before they got there. She pulled out a manila envelope which she handed to Chuck.

"What's this?" he asked.

"I haven't been completely forthcoming with you." She sounded extremely serious. She didn't look happy.

"I know you don't like talking about your past. I'm fine with that."

"This is something big. I wanted to tell you, but I couldn't until now."

Chuck wrinkled his forehead and pulled the packet of papers out of the envelope. "What is this? Are you serious? Divorce papers? Are these real? We just got married. Why would I want a divorce?"

* * *

A/N: What!? Chuck is just as confused as you are.

Songs:  
"I've got a plan" by Morrissey and Marshall  
"When I Go" by Slow Club (because that song is supposed you be used for proposal plans)  
Insert a the sound of a record scratch as the needle is being lifted.


	6. Don't Give Up On Us Now

_Posted July 23, 2019_

A/N: First, a reminder. Last chapter was called "She's Got a Plan." Of course that didn't mean Sarah had a good one.

* * *

CHUCK: Hi, I'm Chuck. Here are a few things you might need to know.

Sarah: "I need a ride to my hotel. Could you please take me?"  
... Sarah: "I'm really glad you were there for me tonight. Thank you. Goodbye, Chuck."

Chuck: "I assume there's enough for two. I didn't mention it earlier, because I didn't know at the time, but I brought a…friend who also missed dinner. I mentioned Bryce's ex-girlfriend whom I gave a ride to the hotel."  
... Chuck: "I could take the couch, and you could sleep in my room."  
Sarah: "That would be perfect."

Chuck: "While I don't work today, I just remembered that I have plans for lunch with Morgan."  
Sarah: "Maybe I can be a third wheel."

Chuck: "Why _are_ you here?"  
Sarah: "I just returned states-side from a trip, and I missed you. I figured I should fix that, so like I said, I'm here to see you."

Sarah: "Chuck Irving Bartowski, will you marry me?"  
... Sarah: "This is something big. I wanted to tell you, but I couldn't until now."  
... Chuck: "What is this? Are you serious? Divorce papers? Are these real? We just got married. Why would I want a divorce?"

* * *

Sarah sat by Chuck on the bed, and took his hands in hers. She was still in her wedding dress; he was still in his tux. She had one left raised on the bed so she could turn toward Chuck. Her dress's skirt draped out so she couldn't sit closer.

"Yes, they are real. I had them written up before I came to see you. I cried for two hours when I signed them a couple nights ago. I don't want a divorce either. _You_ might, though, after you hear what I'm going to tell you."

Sarah's voice quivered a little as she continued. "I didn't want you to feel like I trapped you, so I wanted to give you an easy way out. If you don't like what you hear, you can sign those, and we can go our separate ways. I'll be heartbroken, but a few months ago, I never thought I'd fall in love with someone as wonderful as you. I can go back to living like that. Or you could sign those papers, and we could go back to the way we were the last time I was here. We could just be a boyfriend and girlfriend madly in love, without thinking about where we are going to be in thirty years. I'd rather be married to you, but I would be incredibly happy to just be dating you, too. Whatever you decide, I'll still love you."

Sarah's eyes were filled with tears, not the happy ones that the wedding guests had earlier in the day.

"I still don't get it," Chuck said. "I've been completely in love with you for a while. Us getting married today is fast by any normal standards, but sometimes you just know. We have more to learn about each other, but why not be married to each other while we do that? What's so bad that could change that? Have you killed people or something?" Chuck sarcastically added with a laugh.

Sarah didn't laugh with him. Instead, she got something from her suitcase and placed it on the bed, where Chuck could see it. It was a CIA badge.

Chuck tried to talk a couple times, but he didn't know what to say. He finally said, "I thought you worked in international finance with Bryce."

She voice was completely grave, saying, "He told you the truth when he said we worked together. I've never said I was an accountant. I just didn't correct you when you made that assumption."

"You're a CIA Agent?"

"Yes. I'm a spy. I can't tell you any specifics about the missions I've done. Those are classified. However, you asked if I kill people. The answer is yes, I do."

"You only kill bad people," Chuck said, leading for confirmation. Chuck was trying to find a way he could accept to think about this person that he had married.

"I kill people when they are in the way of achieving the goals of a mission. Missions are supposed to help defend the people of the United States. I hope the people I've killed are all bad, but I don't personally verify each one."

Chuck suggested a way that might make the situation make some sense. "You help make the world safer. You're a hero."

"I'm a spy. It doesn't always feel heroic. I work in the dark shades of grey. I know I'm good at completing whatever mission I'm given. I trust my superiors, like my boss, the Director of Special Operations for the CIA. I trust that they are giving me missions that help the greater good. That's why I am traveling around the world all of the time. That's why I can drive long distances at extremely high speeds, because I've done it before. Going 150 on the expressway is easier than 60 over desert terrain. Earlier today, I wasn't even concerned about a speed trap. If someone tried to stop me, I could have easily lost them." Sarah stopped and reached under her wedding dress and pulled out an expensive looking throwing knife, which she placed next to her CIA badge. "That's why I was armed at my own wedding. I wouldn't do a garter toss because mine double as knife holsters. "

Chuck took a moment to try to process what he had heard. He finally said, "I knew the other shoe was going to drop at some point. Great things like you never happen to me. This is ok, though. I admit this will take a while to get used to, but I still haven't heard anything that would make me not want me to be married to you. I can deal. I think the worst thing is that when you are away, I'll be worried about you being shot and killed. Thousands of people in the country are married to people with dangerous jobs. I'd rather be married to you, the woman that I love, than not married to you."

Sarah nodded and tightened her expression. "Being a spy is not the worst thing. First, me being a CIA Officer is not the reason I wanted to marry you. I wanted to marry you because I love you and I love how I feel when I'm with you. I do admit my job as a spy is part of why I didn't want a long engagement. I didn't want to put off this conversation."

That didn't lessen Chuck's confusion, so she explained more, "When people are given background checks by the CIA, there are several levels. The lowest is for everyone that comes into contact with agents. The next is for the family of agents and for the people who get romantically involved with them. The third is typically for spouses of agents. Spouses aren't allowed to know the specifics of what we do, but they can know they're married to an agent. The CIA figures a spouse is likely to discover an agent's real job, living with one. It's better to be safe and not start with a secret that creates a reason to dig into more secrets. That third level is the highest level, except for the one given to prospective CIA agents. After our first meeting, my boss, who is in charge of all covert missions for the CIA, ordered for you to have a level-three background check. He recruited me into the CIA when I was still in high school, so he can be overprotective. The fact that you passed means for the last two months, you've been officially cleared for what we did tonight."

Chuck follow a little, but still was perplexed.

Sarah said, "As my husband, you're allowed to know I work for the agency—just not where I go and what I do. I didn't see the point of dragging out an engagement while hiding the truth from you. That felt like a con, which brings us to the worst thing."

Chuck said, "We'll get to this worse thing in a second. I don't understand how a divorce helps. If spouses can know someone is an agent, they'd still know after a divorce."

Sarah twisted her mouth up, "I didn't ask the details of how it's supposed to work. Just thinking about not being married to you hurts inside. The CIA doesn't have a policy about broken marriages. They don't want an agent to open themselves up to a foreign government. A spouse who is a double agent wouldn't want a divorce. Some marriages are between agents, so the secret is already known. Some agents choose to never tell their spouse, but I didn't want to keep this secret from you. Some civilians are probably too intimidated to divorce a spy. This isn't any of those situations. It's kind of skirting the rules. I just wanted to follow them and still give you a way out of a marriage to someone who hid something like this from you."

Chuck said, "I married you. Before today, I wasn't expecting anyone to want to marry me. However, I want to spend as much time as I can with you, and the more I thought about it over the last few hours, the more certain I became that I wanted to spend the rest of our lives together. Being with you just makes things make sense."

Sarah smiled at the mention of Chuck wanting to be married to her, despite her being a spy. Then the smile broke as she remembered she wasn't done. "You didn't just marry a spy."

Chuck said, "You've said a few times that there's something worse. However, while I'm struggling to get used to the idea that I just married a spy, your spy-ness and bad-assery aren't a problem, so you being a spy doesn't fit on a 'badness comparison scale.'"

Sarah said, "I'm glad you think that way. I could have told you this other thing before, but it explains why I feel I have to be a spy, which I couldn't tell you about. Also telling you this thing, but not telling you I'm a covert agent, makes this other secret seem worse."

"Now I really want to know what this other thing is because you've lost me."

"I'm telling you." Sarah took a deep break before continuing. "You know how my dad is out of the picture."

"Yes."

"He's in jail. He was convicted when I was in high school. He's a con artist. I told you I left with him when I was younger. I didn't tell you I was often his partner, working con jobs."

"That's horrible."

Sarah frowned, looked down, and gave a small, resigned nod. "I told you it was worse."

Chuck put his hand gently on Sarah's cheek and said, "That's not what I meant. It's horrible that you were put in that position as a kid. Until now, I thought what happened to Ellie and me was the worst. First our mom left us. Then our dad checked out as a parent, leaving Ellie and me to take care of each other. Then our dad left. At least our parents didn't put us in a position to commit crimes to try to earn their love. Your situation was actually worse than ours. Your mom seemed so nice."

"She wasn't involved with that. She threw out my dad when she found out what he we had been doing, before I regularly worked with him on cons. I just made the bad choice to go with the parent who promised a life of excitement rather than staying with the parent who provided structure and a more normal life."

"You were too young to know any better."

Sarah agreed. "I was too young. Now I'm not. Part of the reason I became a CIA agent is to make amends for my past, but I still con people all of the time for my job. Today, I tricked you into marrying me without knowing all of this."

Chuck took the divorce papers and tore them in half. "I don't consider it a trick. You gave the person who loves you insight into what makes you tick, revealing how much you've overcome and showing that you're even more wonderful. You also proved that with your childhood troubles, you're a perfect fit in a family that has its own messy past. I didn't think it was possible, but I love you more."

Sarah sat silently for a minute. She finally said, "I can't believe I got lucky enough to find you."

"You keep doing whatever you need to do, but know I just need you to know that wherever you go, I'll always be here to help you. Being someone who was forced by her father to con people is what you did. Being a spy is what you do. Neither is who you are. You are someone I want to spend the rest of my life with."

Sarah launched herself at Chuck, with a deep kiss. They fell back onto the bed, not caring that they were still dressed as a bride and groom.

After a couple minutes, they separated to catch their breaths. They sat up but kept their foreheads pressed together, both panting to catch their breaths.

Sarah spoke first, "I can't believe you still want to be married to me."

Chuck said in labored breath, "I never thought I'd be married to someone as wonderful as you, but now that I am married to you, I can't imagine not being married to you. I kind of want to vaporize those papers with a phaser, but the Star Trek convention was in the Las Vegas Hilton at the end of July. I don't think they make one that would work. Maybe we could burn them, but that might set off the sprinkler system, and I'd rather stay in this room with you."

Sarah nodded her head in agreement, while keeping her forehead against Chuck's. She pulled the back of Chuck's neck to kiss him again.

After a minute, Chuck broke off the kiss and said, "Something I don't understand."

"What is it?" Sarah asked in almost a groan.

"Why would you think a divorce would make of this all ok? If I wanted to marry you, why would I want to divorce you? When I married you, I accepted you for who you are, whatever that means."

"I just thought it was a way to let you undo something you might think was horrible."

Chuck said, "We're going to be together for a long time. Please don't give up on us when we are just getting started."

"I've not giving up on us. I just wanted to make it easier for you," Sarah explained.

"You're still going to be traveling around, saving the world. I won't be traveling with you. That's not exactly easy, but I don't want to sign those papers despite that."

Sarah asked, "Do you want me to quit being a spy?"

Chuck hugged Sarah close, as tightly as he could with them sitting on the bed, still in their wedding attire. "Of course not. You had a lousy childhood. You're doing what you need to do. I'm just happy you want to be with me in between. But divorce?"

"I don't know. This is uncharted territory for me. With us not married, I couldn't tell you what I do, but I didn't want to trap you into a marriage with a spy. I admit, the plan kind of contradicted itself. However, we're still married, so in my book that's better than us just dating. The plan worked. A week ago, I was updating my emergency contact information, and realized I wanted forever with you. You're my husband now, so even though this was scary for me, it worked. I'm happy." Sarah kissed Chuck firmly in punctuation.

"It was scary for both of us," Chuck said, and he kissed her again, just as forceful.

"I'm sorry about those awful papers that you tore up. Like I said, I've never been in love like this, and I didn't know what to do."

"We have years to look forward to figuring that out together." Chuck asked, "What's this mean for us, our future?"

"You don't want me to quit the CIA?" Sarah asked again, wrinkling her brow.

"No. We need to get used to this, but we love each other, so it's nothing we can't handle," Chuck replied. "Don't get me wrong, I'd love to spend more time with you, with you not jetting around the world to save it. However, I completely understand you doing what you can because of guilt you feel for your past, even when it wasn't your fault. I'm not going to ask you to quit you job. For me however, I might need to get back to my five-year plan, working someplace other than the Buy More."

Sarah said, "I'm not asking you to quit your job, either. I don't care what you do. I feel in my heart what kind of man you are. Whenever we aren't working, we will be together as husband and wife. Right now, neither of us is working, so let's get back to what we were doing before as newlyweds."

Chuck let out an abrupt laugh.

"What?" Sarah questioned. "Are you making fun of my plan. It was rash, but I just wanted to be married to you and stop hiding who I am."

"No. That's not it. It was…extreme, but I can't imagine our marriage getting jolted like that ever again, so it's all easy downhill from here. I get it. We survived, and I love you. I just think it's a little funny that we had that conversation in a tux and a wedding dress. I doubt these things normally stay on this long for couples that just got married."

"You could help me out of the dress." Sarah tried an eyebrow dance. She wasn't as good as Chuck, but she had been practicing. Chuck was always appreciative of the effort.

Chuck's let out a half up-turned smile. "It is the husband's job. I suppose I could suffer through it," he said with a growing smile.

They spent the rest of the night, followed by the next full day, doing what a couple in love normally in a penthouse suite.

* * *

A/N: Everyone who was thinking it, just pat yourselves on the back and say, "I knew it!"

At least it wasn't a prenup. Also because of a concern someone's expressed, for the record, Sarah didn't marry Bryce (or anyone else), even for a mission. Carina's the one who did fake weddings.

I don't imagine fictional characters read fanfic nor carry around an ink pad and rubber stamp, but I would think that any story that has Chuck and Sarah getting married in a couple months would have General Molly's stamp of approval. Note in this story's timeline, on September 10, 2007, Sarah hasn't been to Budapest and this universe's Molly is too young to do much other than cry and look cute, but that doesn't mean other Mollys wouldn't approve. We'll pretend no one ever finds out about Sarah's over-the-top way of trying to provide a safety net when coming clean. That means General Molly doesn't find out. Chuck and Sarah stayed married anyway.

Song: "Don't Give Up On Us Now" by Menew


	7. Troubled Water

_Posted July 24, 2019_

A/N: Hmmm, what else happened to Chuck in September 2007?

(soapbox) FFnet is a great site that gives us the opportunity to meet and share stories about things we love. Sometimes, though, it's really annoying. Normally when it has a problem, it's something like not delivering email alerts in a timely manner (e.g. emails someone reviewed a chapter). The mobile phone editor in Doc Manager is horrible, often changing the order of words. (That could be a problem with the web form technology, not FFnet, itself.) A few times, I've received two emails for each alert. Earlier this year, a couple chapters disappeared from one of my stories, although I'm pretty sure that was my fault. I'm not blaming them for everything. Tuesday was a new one. It was the reverse of normal. I did receive email alerts whenever someone reviewed a chapter, the email containing the review. The review count on the story's page increased. However, if anyone reads the reviews from the story's Reviews link in a web browser or in the mobile app, the recent reviews were missing. When I used the "Reply URL" link in the emails, FFnet said it could not find the review. Just know I'm still getting the reviews and appreciate them like I always do (even though the emails have the first chapter title twice, with the correct number.) I had to manually PM replies to reviews, so that is why PMs aren't threaded for my recent responses. The problem was fixed over half a day later. Also, FFnet removed the greater-than sign that was supposed to indicate the old message, like some email programs do. I can't even save one in this document. Sigh.

Back to the married couple. Eli's coming...in the metaphorical sense.

* * *

_**September 17, 2007**_

Devon answered the knock at the door. Some unexpected visitor had interrupted the movie for which he and Ellie had convinced Chuck to join them. The newly married man needed a break from packing. He couldn't move him and Sarah into a new apartment across the courtyard until October, anyway. Chuck said that with Sarah always traveling, he expected to do the move himself, and he didn't want to waste time doing that if she happened to be around.

On the other side of the door, Devon saw Sarah. Unlike when he normally saw her, she wasn't thrilled to be there. She looked to be barely holding it together. Devon greeted her with his typical bombastic cheer. "Hello, Mrs Bartowski. I thought you weren't coming until tomorrow. We need to get you keys. You do live here now, at least the rest of the month."

Chuck shot up at hearing Sarah was there. She hadn't needed keys before. Chuck had never put any thought into it, but he supposed she had picked the lock. She didn't this time. Something was wrong.

When Chuck saw Sarah, he knew something was definitely wrong. Normally, they would already be kissing. She waited another full second before bursting into tears. Chuck immediately took her into his arms.

Ellie quietly said to Devon, "We should go."

Chuck stopped them and said, "No you stay here." He led Sarah to his—to their—bedroom.

Boxes were stacked against the walls, but the bed was clear. The two of them laid on the bed with Sarah sobbing into Chuck's shoulder. After about a half hour, Chuck asked, "What happened?" Sarah just continued to cry. Chuck didn't push and ask again.

After five or so minutes, Sarah said, "I'm not going to see my mom again."

Chuck knew Emma hadn't done something to hurt Sarah because a week agoshe had repeatedly bent over backwards deferring to Sarah about almost everything. "Is she ok?"

Sarah answered, "I don't know. Probably. If something did happen to her, I wouldn't know."

"I don't understand."

Sarah held Chuck tighter for a minute, then said, "I can't explain everything. Something went wrong on a mission. Very wrong. It wasn't even a real mission. I needed help after saving someone's life, and my mom could do it. The CIA doesn't actually know about her because when I was recruited, I hadn't talked to her in years. I trust most of the people I work with, but I can't risk them finding out who she is. And I've probably said too much. Forget what I said and keep holding me."

Sarah adjusted her hold around Chuck but held as hard as before. Through her sobs, she said, "Just know that I can't see her again. I need to tell Ellie a cover so she doesn't try do something like to invite her to Thanksgiving. It's like my mom is in witness protection. She's not, but that's close enough. I have one parent in jail, and the other is out of the picture. You know what it's like having no parents. I've been trying to build a better relationship with my mom. That was difficult considering I was always going on top secret missions around the world, and she didn't know why. Now I'm never going to see her again."

Chuck asked, "Is there anything I can do for you?"

Sarah hugged him even tighter and said, "You're doing it."

After a few more minutes of just staying in each other's arms together, Sarah said to Chuck, "This isn't what I thought our first night as a married couple at home together would be like."

"I'm your husband. I'm whatever you need me to be."

A half hour later, there was a soft knock at the bedroom door, and Ellie looked in. "Is Sarah ok?"

Sarah looked up with puffy red eyes to face her, "My mom had to enter Witness Protection, so we'll never see her again."

Ellie softly said, "That's horrible for you. Fortunately for you, you're with people who haven't seen their own mother in fifteen years. You're part of this family now. We take care of each other. Tonight, just take comfort from my brother. Tomorrow night, I'm talking out my sister-in-law. Got it. Don't worry. I'll get you back at a decent hour when it is still Chuck's birthday. I'm sure Morgan can entertain him until then." Ellie's tone brooked no argument.

After Ellie shut the door, Sarah said, "I'm so glad that I'm part of this family. It's the only good thing in my life right now."

* * *

_**September 18, 2007**_

Sarah spent the rest of the night in Chuck's arms. They woke early because they went to bed so early. That gave them time for an appropriate "welcome home," celebrating the end of their first night at home together as the Bartowskis. The second time, Sarah gave Chuck a "present" for his birthday. They even had time to "wash each other's backs" before Chuck went to work for a short shift.

Ellie switched the last few hours of her shift with a co-worker because of what she called a family emergency, and the two sisters-in-law went out for very early for drinks.

Ellie never pressured Sarah about what Sarah had told her the night before, and that was just as well for Sarah. She had never had a sister and knew she we going to be telling her a lot of cover stories as long as she worked in the CIA. She didn't want to make it more complicated so soon. Sarah wasn't going to tell Chuck about the baby she rescued and left with her mom, and she knew her husband wouldn't push. He trusted her, they weren't ready for a discussion about children, and Sarah had to stay away from the baby too because the CIA thought she was dead. Chuck just knew something bad must have happened on a mission and wanted to be there for her in the most supportive way possible. He had assured Sarah he didn't need to know any more details.

That night at drinks, Ellie told Sarah that she knew what it was like to grow up without a mom. She affirmed she was there for Sarah in whatever way she needed.

The rest of the evening was lighter. If anything, it made Sarah happy. Sarah heard a lot of stories about Chuck's childhood from a sister's point-of-view. Ellie promised to show her baby pictures another day. The whole thing made Sarah feel even more fortunate for what she did have. A few months before, she had never thought she would find a man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. She also had never expected to find such a good friend, one who didn't even have a gun strapped to her thigh.

The two of them took a cab home. Ellie had turned down Sarah's suggestion of them taking the Porsche because they would be drinking. The doctor didn't know that Sarah had pills to counteract virtually all of the effects of alcohol because the doctor didn't know that as a spy. Sarah carried this not well-known remedy in her purse. Sarah had such a good time and laughed enough throughout the evening that she didn't have to pretend she was drunk from her mojitos.

When they entered the apartment, Ellie called out with a bit of a slur, "Honey, I'm home! Chuck, brother, your wife is here, too!"

Sarah saw Devon down the hall, coming out of his and Ellie's bedroom with a smile. He wasn't wearing a shirt. Sarah could only hope he was working out again, not demonstrating an aversion to clothing. At least she and Chuck would have a place of their own in a couple weeks. Surprisingly, there was no sign of Chuck.

Sarah eased Ellie into the closest chair and nodded at Devon for him to see to his drunk girlfriend. Sarah went directly to her and Chuck's bedroom to look for her husband. It was too early for him to be asleep, and Morgan was supposed to have been gone for an hour. If the guys were still playing games, she expected gunfire sounds to be coming from that room's TV, which still had a game system connected to it. She was a little curious if the video game system or the computer would be packed up last.

It the room, she saw Chuck laying on his back on the floor. She immediately went to his side. He was breathing, but unconscious with no signs of injury. "Ellie, Devon, something is wrong with Chuck. We need a doctor right away."

Sarah was brushing her hands through Chuck's curly hair, when she heard Devon at the room's door. "You wait here, Ellie. You're in no condition to treat him. Sarah, you…too. Ok. You look better, but let the professional handle this."

Sarah stepped back to the door to stand by Ellie. Ellie wrapped both arms around her. The hug felt good, but Ellie was in the state in which she couldn't hold any emotions back, and Sarah was supporting most of her weight. Sarah was lucky there was a _sober_ doctor in the house. When on the CATS, she had removed a couple bullets, reset a broken nose, and stitched half-a-dozen knife wounds closed. She wasn't sure she could handle something being wrong with Chuck.

Sarah had a thought and called Morgan. Her cell phone had five personal numbers: Chuck, the Buy More Nerd Herd help desk, Ellie, Westside Medical to contact Ellie or Devon, and Morgan.

Morgan answered, "Hello. You've reached the Griminator. Go." Sarah's number was blocked so he didn't know who he was talking to. She thought that must be how he greeted strangers on the phone.

"It's me, Morgan."

"Sarah?"

"What happened to Chuck?" she demanded.

"What do you mean?"

"Ellie and I came home, and I found Chuck unconscious of the floor of our bedroom. Devon is checking him out now. I can see a bunch of cans of grape soda in the garbage, so I don't think he got drunk and passed out. You were the last person to see him. What were you doing?"

"Nothing that would hurt him. We were just playing video games and ate pizza. Right before I left, he was deciphering an email from Bryce."

"Bryce sent him an email? Does he email Chuck a lot?" Sarah thought Bryce and Chuck had zero contact in five years. If that was not the case, Morgan would know. He knew everything about the Bartowski siblings.

"Never before, well, except for that invite to the dinner where he met you. This email was strange. It loaded a program that asked Chuck a riddle about a text adventure game that the two of them wrote in college. Chuck had to remember what his hero character kept in his satchel. It was so no one else could figure it out, sort of like a password. I went home and never learned the answer."

Sarah was furious. She didn't know how an email could make someone collapse, but this situation was clearly Bryce's fault.

She thanked Morgan for the information and promised they would let him know that Chuck was ok. After hanging up the phone, Sarah went straight to the computer. Recovering emails was something spies could definitely do.

"What you are doing, Sarah?" Ellie asked. Before Sarah could answer, they all heard Chuck stir as he started to wake up. Sarah only had time to see the email from Bryce and that the linked program would no longer load.

Chuck's revival was the center of everyone's attention. Devon said it didn't look like Chuck had a concussion, and his blood pressure was good. Chuck complained of a massive headache. Sarah helped get him up to sit on the bed where she remained glued to his side. Ellie still seemed a little drunk, but that didn't stop her from issuing medical advice. She said even though no concussion meant Sarah didn't have to wake Chuck every two hours, she should still let him rest. That meant no acting like newlyweds.

Sarah was glad Chuck missed the subtext that his sister was telling him not to have sex. Sarah wasn't going to push things anyway. She just wanted him to hold her again. So far, they were zero for two at home, but at least it wasn't the same one of them both nights. More importantly, they were together.

With Ellie and Devon out of the room, Sarah got up to make a call. As the phone rang, Sarah spoke away from the phone to Chuck, "I know about the email Bryce sent, Chuck. What was in it?"

"I don't know. There were these strange images of random things. It didn't make sense."

Graham answered the phone himself. Sarah expected to have to go through his receptionist, even that late at night. "Sarah, I was just about to call you."

_"What did Bryce do?"_

"How do you know I was going to call you about Bryce?"

_"I came home with my sister-in-law to find my husband passed out of the floor. He's awake and sitting in our bed now, but I found this incident was instigated by an email that was sent by Bryce."_

Graham said, "Tonight, Bryce blew up a government research lab after stealing a secret data-mining program on a computer. During his escape, he emailed his old friend from college, your husband."

_"Bryce is the only person that thinks Chuck and Bryce are friends. Everyone else considered Bryce Chuck's biggest enemy. You said Bryce escaped?"_

"He was escaping, but he was shot in the back when trying to escape."

_"So he's dead?"_

"An ambulance took him away, but there was little doubt."

_"We need to search the body. Maybe he was carrying a clue. Where can we get his clothes and remains?"_

"Just a minute." Graham talked away from the phone to an aide. While Sarah patiently waited, she stood by the bed and brushed her hand through Chuck's hair.

Graham returned to the call. "There's a problem. There's no record of a Bryce Larkin getting to the medical facility."

_"You're telling me he _did _escape."_

"I was told he was dead."

_"In the field, one of the biggest mistakes you can make is to leave a threat behind you when you only thought it was dead. When I was watching a movie with Chuck a couple weeks ago, he said certain people are never dead unless they are impaled or decapitated. That's for fiction, but he's mostly right. Personally, I just shoot them in the head."_

Graham said, "We have a more immediate problem than one rogue agent. The NSA dispatched John Casey to seal the intelligence leak, and they know Larkin sent an email to Chuck."

_"They sent Casey. After my husband. Because of something done by a traitor who has a history of framing the same person they are trying to get. I'm here, so they are _not _taking Chuck away. Do they want Casey dead?"_

"This computer was for a joint agency project. The NSA is taking the lead. We're just being kept in the loop."

_"We are smack in the middle of the loop. Bryce went rogue, but earlier today, he was a CIA agent. Both the CIA and NSA are threatening an innocent civilian. I will stop anyone who threatens him again."_

"Sarah, we can't create an inter-agency incident over this."

_"Director, I am informing you that as I am standing in my bedroom and that has become the field, I'm already in the field, and I'm taking operational control over the local situation. Please keep me apprised of anything important you discover in DC. I will let you know if there are any important developments here." Sarah disconnected the call, not leaving room for an argument from her boss._

Sarah looked to Chuck and saw his eyes wide. He said, "You are so hot when you take charge. I told you this morning that I like it when you lead, but I had no idea."

Sarah smiled and gave him a quick peck on the lips. "You said you like it when I'm on top. This is different." Then she returned to making calls. First, she called air traffic control at Reagan airport. Then she made a series of calls to reach the next person she wanted to talk to.

A gruff man answered, "This is Casey."

_"Major John Casey, this is Sarah Walker. Your reputation precedes you. I assume you know of mine as well."_

"Sure."

_"I know what you thought you were doing tonight, and I am altering your plans."_

Chuck mumbled something, pulling Sarah's attention for a second. She asked him, "What was that?"

"I said, 'Pray I don't alter them any further.` It's from _The Empire Strikes Bank,_ and it's not important. Ignore me."

Into the phone, Sarah said, _"Could you please repeat that?"_

Casey said, "I have orders. I can't change them because some CIA skirt tells me to—especially one that was partners with a rogue spy."

With that comment, Sarah knew that if she wasn't successful in defusing the situation, she'd feel a little less guilty for killing the NSA Agent. Sarah said, _"Agents can make decisions in the field when finding out new information. There are several things you don't know that I'm going to tell you. First, Bryce is not dead. You failed to kill him. His ambulance never showed up at the medical center._

_"Second, Bryce has a history of manipulating the man he emailed. He's not a friend of Bryce's, but an enemy. The most logical assumption is that Bryce was going to try to trick Chuck Bartowski to get the intelligence back._

_"Finally, Sarah Walker is my professional name. You are talking with Sarah Bartowski."_

The language that Sarah heard on the phone validated that Casey was a Marine.

Casey then called away from the phone, "Why are the plane's engines shutting down? We're supposed to be taking off in five minutes."

Sarah said, _"Before I called you, I grounded your flight. I thought we should talk before you threaten my family and I'm given no choice but to kill you."_

"Right," Casey said, his tone indicating he didn't think that outcome was likely. Then again. "I didn't know you were married."

_"Chuck and I got married a little over a week ago. Besides the people that were at the small wedding, the only other person that knows Chuck and I are married is the CIA Director of Special Operations. I talked to him a few minutes ago, after finding my husband passed out of the floor as a reaction to the email that Bryce sent."_

Sarah gave Casey a second to process, then she continued,_ "I've checked, and the email corrupted itself, probably so someone like you can't come in later and steal it. Threatening Chuck at this point is only going after someone a rogue spy put the bulls-eye on. You'd be doing his work for him, and I'd stop you. I proposed we meet in person."_

Casey grunted. "Where?"

_"My husband is a supervisor at the Burbank Buy More. It's a public building with a lot of civilians around, but there's a room in which we can have privacy and can talk to try to figure out this situation. We can meet after the store opens at 10am. If you know what's good for you, you will come unarmed."_

Sarah disconnected the call, leaving her focus on Chuck. Before she could join him in bed, Sarah made one last call.

_"Morgan, Chuck is fine, right next to me. We still don't know what happened, but it seems like the surprise of Bryce's email made him pass-out. He's smiling at me now and wiggling his eyebrows, so I have to go. I'll drive him to work tomorrow morning. See you there. Bye."_

Two seconds later, Sarah was off the phone and under the covers with Chuck.

Chuck said, "I'm head-over-heels in love with Sarah Bartowski, but take-charge Agent Walker is hot, too."

Sarah pulled Chuck down from how he was sitting against the bed's headboard so he laid next to her, and she snuggled into the crook of his neck. She said, "Sarah Bartowski is fine with that. Agent Walker is a little disappointed that we should just sleep. Maybe tomorrow. I don't care what the doctor said. I'm not taking chances. We have to wait 24 hours."

The two of them just held each other, pleasantly enjoying their second night at home as a married couple.

* * *

more A/Ns: This chapter was technically Hurt/Comfort, but Sarah has taken control, so no more of that.

After chapter 1, Marc Vun Kannon had the intriguing idea of Bryce going after Chuck, with Sarah saving the day. In this story, Bryce's "revenge" is just what he always does, put a target on Chuck's back. In the show, first date-Sarah Walker stabbed several people to defend Chuck. Married-Sarah Bartowski would be even more protective. Casey was fortunate that Graham knew to get out of Sarah's way and let her take charge in the field. She wouldn't be a threat to people who didn't deserve it, and in her book, people who threatened her family deserved it. Bryce—she'd just kill him—no fuss. (Probably like _Chuck vs His Former Handler_, but with a bullet to the brain because that's easier than tying him up. She wouldn't want to spend any time with more imaginative activities because they would take her away from Chuck.)

Hmm. I've now written three stories that go with Chuck vs the Baby. This one is AU, but the other two were one-shots written when season 5 aired and are canon-compatible.

The original idea for this story was what if Chuck and Sarah were married before he got the Intersect? Everything before this chapter was how would that happen? This and the final chapter are what would happen next? In my head, the title of this story has been "They Are Already Married!" even though that didn't happen until chapter 5. To those of you who asked about the Intersect early in this story, it was always coming.

Songs:  
"Bridge Over Troubled Water" by Simon and Garfunkel  
"Eli's Coming" by Three Dog Night  
"A Comet Appears" by The Shins


	8. Flashes

_Posted July 25, 2019_

* * *

_**September 19, 2007**_

Chuck and Sarah walked hand-in-hand into the Buy More. Chuck started his work as Sarah, waiting for the store to open, sat in the same recliner she had claimed nine days before. He briefed the rest of the Nerd Herd about a virus that had been causing problems, taking out a store display unit the day before.

Sarah had three people come up to her and offer her congratulations before scampering away. Two more begged her not to take Chuck away from them. Sarah reassured them that it was never her intention to make him quit the Buy More. She didn't tell them a little part of her would be disappointed if he didn't wear a grey tie she could adjust before he went to work. She didn't talk much, but she was tactile, at least when it came to him. She noticed Lester gave her a wide berth. After watching Chuck in his element, Sarah was sure that the store really depended on him to keep things running smoothly and not burn down.

Chuck disappeared a little before 10. Wondering where he was, Sarah called him, and he admitted he was at the Large Mart, looking for a new comforter. She ordered him back, saying they could go shopping together for things like that for their new apartment after they moved in, but they didn't need a new comforter that day. She reminded him that she had access to GPS trackers which could be put into his Converse Chucks.

Right before the store opened, Sarah and Chuck went to the home theater room, closing the curtains. They asked Morgan to stand watch. When a man came in who said he had an appointment with Sarah, Morgan was to knock and let him in. No one else was to disturb them. Morgan took the assignment seriously with a salute.

Shortly after the store opened, there was a noise outside the room of a person falling into the merchandise shelves. A couple seconds later, the door opened abruptly. Chuck went to greet the person, and Sarah took a position about ten feet to the side, out of view of anyone looking through the door.

Chuck saw the large, fit, stern-looking man in his forties at the door. Chuck said, "You must be John Casey, I'm—"

Sarah interrupted and said, "Casey, walk slowly into the room. No sudden moments. Chuck, get behind me."

Chuck gulped when he saw Sarah had a gun with a silencer pointed at the doorway. He wondered where she had hidden that because her purse was back in his employee locker.

Casey cautiously stepped inside, holding his palms open as a sign he was not attacking, but kept them down at his side. "I thought you said no weapons."

"I said _you_ should be unarmed. I never said I would be. I assume you came armed anyway. Carefully remove the guns from your shoulder and ankle holsters and toss them across the room. If you even _think_ about trying anything, I _will_ shoot. I wanted to talk. If I wanted to kill you, you'd be dead. I wouldn't have called you last night. I would have just shot you coming off the plane."

Casey growled, but complied, as he didn't have much choice with Sarah having him dead to rights. When he was finished, Sarah said, "Chuck, make sure Morgan is ok. Casey, go with him and apologize to my friend."

"Your friend?" Casey questioned.

"After my wedding last week in which the man you attacked was the best man, Morgan told me that since he was Chuck's best friend, by the transitive property, he's my friend too."

"Friendship doesn't work that way."

"You're a spy. Like you would know any better than I do. I just know that man knows how to be a friend better than either of us knows how to be a spy. I asked him to keep other people out, and he agreed without question. His loyalty puts people in the military to shame."

Chuck and Casey exited. When they returned a minute later, Sarah had her gun down her side. She might not be ready to shoot in an instant, but she looked just as fierce.

She asked, "How was he, Chuck?"

Chuck answered, "He'll be fine. This wasn't the first time he's been bullied around. I told him it was a big misunderstanding. When he heard you'd be in here with me, he said we wouldn't be disturbed by anyone else."

Sarah indicated he should go to the other side of her. Sarah focused her attention on Casey and said, "Last night, Bryce went rogue, destroyed a government lab, and did something to Chuck. You shot Bryce, but despite you being an assassin, he survived. Your original plan was to take away Chuck, the man who Bryce has a history of framing. This morning, you attacked Chuck's friend. I see no reason I should trust you."

Casey grunted, "I'd never betray my country or the good people who live here."

"Yet you want to harm the guy who only got a massive headache from looking at a few pictures."

"Uh, Sarah?" Chuck said.

"Yes?" Sarah barely softened her acknowledgement.

"The email had more than a few pictures. It had thousands of them."

"Why would Bryce sent you the entire Intersect?" Sarah asked rhetorically.

"What's the Intersect?" Chuck asked.

Sarah said, "I got a briefing this morning. It's the computer Bryce destroyed. If he sent you the entire Intersect database, he wasn't simply trying to frame you, and it wasn't something he could take back easily. Why would Bryce pick you as the person to send it to? It couldn't be because of our marriage. He shouldn't have known about that, and if he did, he'd have to know that if he did anything to you, he'd be lucky if he could still drink through a straw after I was through with him."

Sarah thought for a few seconds. "What was the class he framed you for cheating in—the one in which you were doing better than everyone else? Bryce started screwing you over because of that class, and now he picked you, again. There's got to be a connection."

"Psychology and Symbolism. The last test I aced had a section on encoded, subliminal images."

Sarah said, "Chuck, don't freak out. The images you saw were encoded with government secrets. If you saw them, you know them. You have the database for multiple government agencies in your head. You're lucky the only side-effect is your headache."

"About that."

"What is it, Chuck?"

"I think there might be something wrong with me."

Sarah dropped her investigative line of questioning and switched to one of concern. "Do I need to call Ellie or Devon? Devon is just a heart surgeon. Ellie is the one who is an expert on the brain."

"No, I want to keep them out of this. I don't think there's anything she could do anyway. I just keep knowing things I shouldn't know."

"Like what?"

"This morning, when you joined me in the shower—"

Casey grunted in disgust.

Sarah said, "It was not like that. Last night, my brother-in-law, the heart surgeon, said that Chuck didn't have a concussion from when he fell on the floor. I followed concussion protocol anyway and woke him every two hours." It wasn't necessary, but it gave Sarah an excuse to kiss him awake every two hours. She wasn't going to pass up any excuse to kiss him like that over and over again. They had just been married and weren't doing other stuff. "I'm giving the situation 24 hours before taking full advantage of my husband. We still have 10 hours and 53 minutes. In the shower, we _only _helped each other clean." To Chuck, she said, "I saw you react when I opened the door. I thought it was from seeing me join you."

"Sorry. That was great, but that wasn't it. Right before you walked in, I heard something on the radio, and I suddenly knew something about how the police were deploying on the 5 to make room for the security caravan. Later, when I was talking to the Nerd Herders about the Irene Demova virus that has been attacking a lot of computers, I saw General Stanfield on a news clip on the TVs on the wall. I knew he arrived last night, and he isn't coming tonight like then said. Earlier at home when we were getting dressed, I saw that blue ring of yours on the dresser and thought I imagined you taking out some bad guys in a parking lot. Now I think I was remembering real security footage, up to the point that you shot the camera. A few minutes ago at the Large Mart, I think I saw a Serbian demolitions expert."

Casey was skeptical. "Why would a terrorist be at Large Mart?"

"I don't know," Chuck said. "Maybe he shops there daily because he has a hide-out nearby."

Casey shrugged, "I guess the bad guys have to shop somewhere, but that is some coincidence."

Sarah said, "We need to call this in."

Chuck pointed at the TV and said, "Do you want me to? I can make a video call from here."

Chuck and the two spies sat on the sofa as Chuck used a wireless keyboard to place the call to Director Graham. The screen showed he was not alone. Casey greeted his superior, General Diane Beckman of the NSA.

The two spymasters were disturbed by the news of what had happened to Chuck and that he had become a human host of the Intersect. Beckman said that was an eventual goal of the project, but she didn't know the research was that far along. Graham asked what Chuck knew about where the Serbian bomber was at the moment.

Chuck put the call in a smaller window and pulled up live parking lot security footage for the Buy More. He went back in time, and they got lucky. The man Chuck had seen was visible entering his car parked in the area between the two main stores' parking lots. He couldn't see where the car went after it left the plaza, though.

Everyone was concerned that a known international terrorist was in town at the same time as the NATO general who was making a speech tomorrow. The problem was they didn't know what they could do about it except tighten security at the event.

Chuck opened a web browser so he would know more about what the event was, and the page he found had a picture of the hotel that was hosting the event. It happened again. Chuck said that he "flashed." He said that the NSA had found a blueprint of the hotel and that the CIA had found plans for the bomb that the missing bomber was making. He was definitely targeting the general.

Chuck mused to Sarah that it was too bad they needed a warrant. Sarah said, "I don't know when you need a warrant. The CIA works internationally where we don't worry about those."

They looked to Casey. He said, "Don't look at me. I go where I'm ordered. I don't worry about what the lawyers do."

The three of them looked to Beckman and Graham on the television screen. Beckman said, "This is an exigent situation and a terrorist threat. We have some leeway. What good does that do?"

Chuck said, "Can we call you back in about fifteen minutes? I think I can find the bomber." He disconnected the call without waiting for an answer. Chuck got up and peeked his head out of the home theater room. "Morgan, you know that fifty-inch LCD TV screen on the wheeled stand that is by the cage? Could you bring it to us?" Morgan saluted like before and went to get it. Chuck then saw Fernando was nearby and asked the green-shirt to bring back a twenty-four foot HDMI cable that was stashed behind the Nerd Herd desk.

"Chuck, what are you doing? Fernando doesn't work for you," Harry Tang roughly asked

"Harry, Sarah brought in a potential customer. He needs a demo."

"That sounds like something for the sales team, not the Herd."

"I know, Harry, Mr Casey is shopping for a big and expensive security system for his uncle. His needs are complicated, but I'm sure we can give him what he needs with things in this store. The initial setup is pretty technical, though. I just want this to smoothly. If you want to take over, though…"

"That's ok, Bartowski. Carry on. But hurry up. You have your own department."

Chuck came back in the room with a smile.

Sarah beamed at him. "That was a pretty good cover story you came up with on your feet."

Casey questioned, "My uncle?"

Chuck said, "Like 'The Man from U.N.C.L.E.' The TV show from the 60s."

Casey said, his voice laced with disgust, "That show was not how the real world works. The commies don't work with us to take on some evil crime syndicate. They're the bad guys."

Morgan and Fernando arrived with their supplies to prevent any further critique of Chuck's choice of a relative for Casey. Chuck spent two minutes plugging in the TV to the computer that he had been controlling with the keyboard. Two minutes later, he had each TV showing different video from LA traffic control. A couple minutes after that they had that their bomber's car leaving the expressway. Chuck switch to traffic light cameras and identified the car going into a subdivision. He switched to a completely different view but groaned in disappointment. He restarted, this time bringing up a new satellite image, one that had a Chinese flag in the lower right corner.

"Does one of you happen to know Chinese?" Chuck asked. "That's the car parked in the driveway, but I can't read the overlays for the street name because I can't read Chinese. I can only read the numbers."

Sarah said, "I've got it." She told them the English street name.

Casey said, "What was that we just watched?"

Chuck answered, "I hacked into LA traffic control, first their highway monitoring, then their traffic light network. I switched to a US satellite, so I maybe I could get a view of the neighborhood where I saw the car drive, but our West Coast satellite is currently up over San Francisco. I switched to a Chinese one that is currently over LA, and there he is. We can just make the fifteen minutes that I said. I probably would have been a few minutes faster, but I didn't have a bottle of cheap Chardonnay for my routine, and I haven't done anything like that since college.

Casey looked to Sarah who shrugged and said, "Don't look at me." She then grabbed Chuck's face firmly between her hands and gave him a full kiss, ignoring the noise of disgust that Casey made. She pulled back after a second, looked him straight in the eyes, and said, "Make the call."

With the leaders back on the screen, Sarah explained that Chuck had located the bomber's hide-out. Meanwhile, Chuck was doing something on the other screen. He interrupted, "Excuse me, but it looks like he just ordered a pizza."

Beckman said, "Thank you, Chuck. Casey, please coordinate with LA SWAT to apprehend our terrorist. They can use the pizza delivery as cover for their approach."

"Yes, Ma'am." Casey walked to the side of the room and started making calls.

Graham said, "Obviously, the Human Intersect Project is a great success. It seems like the NSA is having security trouble, but we luckily still have firm control. Agent Walker has Secret Service experience and has the strongest motivation of anyone to keep Chuck safe. She should stay at his side. Agent Casey already knows the identity of the Intersect and would be a valuable member of the team, keeping Team Intersect an inter-agency project going forward."

Sarah said, "Chuck didn't ask for this. Is there some way to get the Intersect out of his head?"

They all waited for General Beckman to answer. "I don't know. I've been reviewing who the top Intersect scientists are. Maybe one of them can help."

Sarah said, "Who?"

"Their identities are highly classified."

"So is the information that was put into my husband's head. Please show us who you are talking about. My sister-in-law is a brain surgeon and frankly I trust her to look out for Chuck's best interests a lot more than an anonymous researcher who might make him a guinea pig and might care more about experimenting on him than safe-guarding the secrets already in his head."

"I understand. Here, let me show you." She brought up the first dossier on the screen: Dr. Jonas Zarnow.

Chuck flashed. Casey was still on the phone with local teams that could help capture the bomber, but the rest of them saw it. Sarah asked, "What is it?"

"The Intersect just told me Zarnow has been selling secrets to the North Koreans."

Sarah said, "This is worse than I thought. Bryce Larkin is still out there, and the Intersect scientists themselves are traitors."

Beckman said, "We'll deal with Zarnow. One bad apple doesn't make them all bad. Here's the next one."

Chuck immediately said, "I don't need to flash on that one. That's Professor Flemming, the guy from who Bryce said I stole tests at Stanford."

Sarah said, "We can't trust him. He was working with Bryce back then, so for all we know, he's working with Bryce now. He should be brought in too."

Beckman said, "He will be. The next one is Perseus."

Chuck said, not containing the humor in his voice, "Like the constellation or like the guy in _Clash of the Titans_ who cut off Medusa's head. I heard they may be doing a remake in a few years, but they are having trouble with the script."

Beckman frowned. "I don't know. It was a code name. He's an American scientist, not a bunch of stars or a person from a Greek myth."

Sarah interjected, "It doesn't matter. Who is he really?"

"We're not sure. We don't have a photo on file."

"You don't know who was working for you?"

"It was someone at the DoD, we just don't know who. They obscured their names with code names because all of their work was top secret, and they didn't want to be targeted by foreign governments. Their security was good enough to hide their identities even from us."

Sarah suggested, "Maybe Chuck can look through the pictures in the DoD employee directory tomorrow, and he could use the Intersect to identify people who might have worked on it. Was this Perseus in charge of the project?"

Beckman said, "No, that was Orion."

Chuck asked, "The guy with the belt designed the Intersect?"

Sarah looked over at Chuck with a serious expression. She didn't think it was funny.

Chuck said, "Ok, I understand. Another code name. That one is for the constellation with the three stars that make a belt. And that doesn't matter now. Sorry to interrupt. Carry on."

Sarah took Chuck's hand between hers and put it on her lap. Sarah was sending a clear signal that she was taking charge of him in this discussion.

Beckman said, "Orion's identity is secret, even from me. He's been a ghost, off the radar for several years. The last few years, the Intersect project has been putting together technologies he invented. Considering we don't know how to find him or whether we can even trust him, I don't think you can count on his help."

Sarah said, "I agree. Here's what I recommend. In two weeks, Chuck and I were going to move into a new apartment in the same complex we already live in. I think we should move in three weeks and during that extra week, government teams should add extra security to the apartment.

Chuck offered, "I can make our Internet connection extra secure."

"I'm sure you can. After seeing how easily you hacked into the satellites of multiple governments, I trust your computer acumen more than what our government's." To Graham and Beckman, she said, "I'll stay here and protect Chuck. Everyone already assumes I work in international finance. I can use that cover to establish a new financial consulting business here in the plaza, letting me monitor Chuck when he's at work. I can say all of my clients are remote, so the business won't bring in extra civilians through the front door. There's an open apartment in our complex, so Casey can take that. I'm sure Chuck can get him a job at the store for cover. From what I've seen, Chuck practically runs the store."

Graham said, "That plan should work."

Beckman countered, "Wouldn't it be safer to just move Chuck to a secure government facility?"

Sarah said, "Maybe it'd be better for his physical safety, but it wouldn't be for our secrets nor for other people. Putting him in a bunker would take him away from his sister, his friends, and the people who depend on him, for something he didn't do. I'd insist on being assigned as security, so you'd be taking me out of the field too. If Chuck had been in a bunker this morning, he never would have identified and located a terrorist threat, leaving General Stanfield to be assassinated tomorrow night, dying with countless other people. We don't know how his flashes work. Locking Chuck away might make him never flash again because stress affects how the brain works."

"You're argument raises valid concerns," Beckman admitted. "We'll go with your plan, for now."

Casey rejoined them in the video call. "What did I miss?"

Chuck cheekily said, "You're going to be our neighbor, wear a green polo, and sell things at the Buy More. Morgan can show you what to do."

Casey grunted, turned to the screen, and said, "What are my real orders, General?"

"That was a generally accurate interpretation of your orders. I will send you official orders, later. Good job today, team." Beckman disconnected the call.

Casey said, "Stop looking so smug. SWAT is on their way to take the hideout now. I suppose I'll be seeing more of you two in the future."

Sarah said, "I wasn't being smug. I know your reputation. I truly believe we can be a good team."

"I think so too, but I wasn't talking about you. I was talking about your smug boy toy, the walking computer. I'm going to join the SWAT assault team to make sure I don't miss the opportunity for gun play."

"Even if he's sometimes my toy, he's my husband. I'm sometimes his toy, too." It didn't matter what she said. Casey had turned his back immediately, and was out the door before she could finish.

Left alone, Sarah and Chuck focused on each other. They both started with small smiles that couldn't help but grow. Chuck said, "So this is you, being a spy?"

"My missions aren't normally like this. This circumstance could safely be called unique, but I think it's much better than any mission I've ever had. For this one, I get to be with you. Sometime later tonight, I do expect a full explanation about the fact that I married a brilliant hacker. I told you about my colorful past. It's your turn. No secrets, no lies."

"Whatever you say. As a preview, there's not much to tell. I didn't do anything serious like change college transcripts or hack into banks to transfer funds. It was mostly for fun, to see if I could do it. Also, it was a while ago. I started when I was a Freshman and quit before I was kicked out of Stanford."

"The bottle of Chardonnay?"

"Drinking underage is probably the worst thing I did, but I was in a frat. That was happening anyway. All college students do that."

"I see. I only did it for training because I joined the CIA right out of high school. You seemed to get into the LA traffic control network pretty easily, like you've been there before."

"One summer when I was home from college, Ellie was running late for an interview for a post-residency position. _She_ doesn't know I helped with the lights, and there is no reason she needs to know now, seven years later. They've updated their system, but the security is basically the same."

Sarah chuckled and said, "It's good to know I wasn't the only one of us sneaking around. I still want full disclosure later." However, she didn't need it right then. They passionately kissed, a kiss that escalated with Sarah completely on top of Chuck as he laid down on the couch. Sarah recovered her senses first and said, "We need to stop. I just wish you didn't have to work today. Now that we know you really didn't have a concussion, there's no reason to wait the rest of the 24 hours."

For another minute, Chuck and Sarah again took advantage of the privacy the room offered. Chuck said into Sarah's neck as he held her, "Even if we weren't married, I'm so glad you're the person protecting me. Being married to my spy protector is a bonus."

Sarah asked, "When's your lunch break?"

"In a couple hours," Chuck answered.

Sarah said, "I've been wanting to go to that deli sandwich place I saw in the plaza. Lou's. We'll eat fast."

"That'll work. Before I go back to the salt mines. One quick one for the road?"

Their kiss wasn't very quick. When Chuck finally returned to work, no one seemed to care how long he had been gone. That was even before he turned in the large sales order from Casey's uncle.

* * *

A/N: That's where I originally planned on ending this story. The next and last chapter is a "deleted scene," set between chapters 4 & 5.

Chuck and Sarah are together, like they are supposed to be. The next chapter is just for fun.

Songs:  
"Flash" by Queen  
"Signs" by Bloc Party


	9. ILU

_Posted July 26, 2019_

A/N: I've been calling this a "deleted scene," but that's just because that is what extras on DVDs are called. This was written after I posted the eighth chapter. I just felt like I skipped over an important moment in Chuck and Sarah's quickly evolving relationship to get them to the altar faster. This chapter is from the second time Sarah came back to see Chuck, between chapters four and five.

* * *

_**August 2007**_

"Yeah, we win!" Ellie cried out with her arms in the air.

Chuck said, "Like there was ever a doubt."

Chuck and Sarah had been soundly beaten by Ellie and Devon at Pictionary. If they had 10 free turns, they might get as far as the doctor couple did in the game. Then again, they might never draw well enough.

Ellie asked, "What game next? Life?"

Sarah said, "Oh no. Chuck and I are not trying to do better than you at life."

"It's just the name of the game," Devon said. "It's not a judgment about the rest of your life. Besides, you two just met a month ago. How about something like Scrabble?"

Everyone looked to the guest for her opinion. Sarah's eyes were dancing at the suggestion.

Devon said, "Scrabble it is. I'll get a dictionary we can use for challenges." His cell phone rang. "But first I'll get this. Oh, it's my mom. I'll be a few minutes. Sorry." He answered the phone and walked down the hall to talk to her.

Ellie said, "I'll finish cleaning up dinner while Devon's busy."

Chuck said, "Are you sure? Losers should do the work."

"No, no. That's alright. I want to pack up meals we can take to eat in the hospital cafeteria tomorrow. You two stay here. Just remember, I'm in the next room," she teased and winked before she patted her brother's shoulder and went to the kitchen.

Chuck and Sarah smiled at each other, with a little desire mixed-in. They were both thinking about what they could get away with before everyone came back. They were interrupted with a chime from Chuck's phone. He looked at the text message.

Chuck worked on a reply. It took a little while on the flip phone, but he was pretty efficient at typing on a phone without a slide-out keyboard. Chuck and Sarah sat at opposite ends of the sofa, their legs intertwined between them. After a minute, Chuck received a text message from Sarah.

_Do you have another girlfriend I don't know about?_

_You want to text instead of talk? Just so you know, I'm not comfortable with the idea of sexting._

_What's that?_

_Never mind._

That were still sitting next to each other, but apparently they were going to communicate silently. Sarah used her feet to pull Chuck closer. Using only her legs, Sarah pulled herself to sit on Chuck's thighs. Their phones were inches to the side of each other, but Sarah still typed.

_About this mystery girlfriend..._

_It's just Morgan._

_I know about that one._

_?_

_I know Morgan._

_I still don't understand. He just asked us to another movie. I said no._

_I'd go to another movie with you, but I'm leaving tomorrow, and we're having fun with Devon and Ellie tonight. I want to spend time with all of the people in your life._

It took Sarah a minute to type that, but she wasn't slow either. She'd seen an iPhone, which had been released a couple months before. She wasn't sure if typing on a screen would be faster than on a Blackberry, but it had to be better than typing letters on a keypad. Her job required a phone with custom security. It'd be nice when CIA tech authorized a phone with a better way of typing.

Chuck's next message said, You_ didn't seem to like the last movie._

_I didn't understand the point of it, but I loved going to the movie with you and your best friend._

Chuck didn't start typing a response.

Sarah texted, _Why are you making that face? Did I break you again?_

Chuck took a deep breath before typing, _You said the 'L' word._

Sarah focused on her phone has she typed, but she held a large, closed-mouth smile. _Yes. I didn't say 'I love you,' but I do. I love you. It's easier to type because I've never said it out loud to anyone who wasn't my parent or grandparent. The only way I can describe how I feel is I love you.  
_

Chuck's teech shined as he typed, _i__lu, too_.

_What does 'ilu' mean?_

Sarah ran her hand through Chuck's hair as he typed.

_I guess I could have done a heart emoticon._

_I don't know what that means either._

When Sarah trailed her hand sensually around Chuck's ear and down to his neck, he gave her a look that meant he knew what she was doing. Sarah just gave Chuck a quick kiss on the lips, and he resumed typing.

'_Ilu' is 'I love you.' I'd never seen the full thing typed out before. Sometimes a heart is used. The heart emoticon is a less than followed by a three, making at sideways heart._

_Did Jill and you text each other ilu all the time?_

Chuck groaned at the mention of that name. He wished his sister never shared the name that first night he met Sarah. A couple days later, Ellie apologized and said she figured he had already brought up his ex-girlfriend. After Sarah showed up at the Buy More a couple weeks ago, Chuck deleted his wallowing playlist. He typed, _We sometimes sent each other hearts. I thought we were in love and I would someday ask her to marry me. It was an immature college thing and not real love. People who are really in love are there for each other for the good and the bad._

_Like us. For better or worse._

Chuck stopped his fast texting pace for a minute and just stared at his phone. He wouldn't look up at Sarah because he knew that would make the rest of his brain stop working. He finally typed, _Since we're talking about exes, what about you and Bryce?_

Sarah thought she and Bryce were more about "you go shoot that bad buy" and we're-still-alive adrenaline releases. _In two years, love was never a thing. That's why that almost-proposal was so unexpected._

Ellie called in from the kitchen, "I'm almost done. Do I need to do a hand check?"

Chuck called back, "Of course not. Everything we are doing could be shown on broadcast TV at 7pm. It's not even risqué enough to warrant basic cable."

Ellie came over, holding a plastic container that she had packed, but had yet put in the fridge, "What are you doing? Sarah, tell my brother to stop playing games on his phone."

Sarah said, "He wasn't. He's texting me."

"I don't get it. He's right there. You're on his lap. Whatever. You two are weird. Cute, but weird."

When Ellie walked back to finish up in the kitchen, Sarah started typing furiously on her phone. Chuck received a long message.

_iluiluiluiluiluiluiluiluiluiluiluiluiluiluiluiluiluiluiluiluiluiluilu_

Chuck put down his phone, grabbed his girlfriend's face in both hands, and deeply kissed her. He didn't care if his sister found them that way, because he had no intention of stopping anytime soon.

Ellie did come back a couple minutes later. Upon realizing that the other two didn't notice she was there, she started setting up the next game. A couple minutes after that, Devon returned. Ellie cleared her throat and said, "Please stop and let each other breathe. You have all night to get back to...that."

Sarah beamed and said, "That's the best thing that I've heard tonight." She wasn't talking about the stopping or breathing part. She meant getting back to it.

Not only did Sarah completely dominate Scrabble, but she seemed like she wanted to finish as fast as possible. She didn't tell anyone, but she had made it her mission. After the game, she pulled Chuck down the hall.

Devon said, "It looks like accountants are better at this game than doctors and computer-guys. I think Sarah is claiming her prize."

* * *

A/N: That's it for this one. There's a sequel, "The Bartowskis vs the Spy World." Informally, I think of it as "They're Already Married!" Sarah is the spy protector of the Human Intersect, who happens to be her husband.

Song:  
"I Just Called To Say I Love You" by Stevie Wonder (I just texted...)


End file.
